The Doctor's Report....

2011-09-01T17:29:00.000-05:00

Trying to catch up on some blogging.....

Utah Vacation August 2011

Happy Traveler!!

Caleb and Nathan

Riding the chair up the mountain

pull me!

Nathan and Sarah

Caleb and Dad playing at Nickel City

the tickets won!

The loot from the tickets!

After so much work to earn the tickets we all needed a reward and frozen yogurt hit the spot!

Bridal Veil Falls

Before heading up to SLC we stopped by Bridal Veil Falls so that Caleb

could play in the water for a little while.

After a short time, Caleb was ready to get out of the stream....he was freezing!

We stopped by our friend Randy's Firehouse Sub to eat lunch.

It was so fun seeing Randy after 30 years!

Heading home now ....resting at a Wyoming rest stop!

For now the doctor is out......counting down the days until the next vacation!

May 1st, 2005......gone but never forgotten....miss you dear Robin

2011-04-30T22:26:00.001-05:00

The year 2005.....I call it the year from hell.   It was the year that I lost my sister in law due to cancer. It was the year that marred my daughter's graduation from BYU.....I got the phone call from sweet hubby just minutes after Sarah graduated to let me know that his mother passed away.....we left Provo asap and headed back home to LR only to get the call from my aunt to let us know that one of my uncles passed away as well. Wow....what a day.    I saw and talked to my sister, Robin, for the last time at my mother-in-laws funeral...I wish I knew that would be the last time I would ever talk to her....I would have said so much more. Robin passed away suddenly the following Sunday (May 1, 2005)....we got the call while on our way to my uncle's funeral....needless to say we didnt' make it to his funeral, instead we turned around and headed to Mayflower so we could be with Mike and Taylor and try to make sense of what was happening.   Later that year we lost my dad, and 3 weeks later his brother. Then to end the year Sarah lost her own paternal grandfather.

The most painful of all of this was losing my sister.   She was young. She had a little boy who needed her. It took me a long time to sort through my anger over this. Why? Why did she have to leave us? Finally, my knowledge of the plan of salvation broke through my pain and gave me the very much needed comfort that all is well.....and, that families are forever.....that someday I will see my sister again.....that someday when I see her she will be whole....without any pain, without any sickness..... to read my first post in remembrance of Robin go here.

So this year on May 1st, I will be spending the day with my mom and my other sister (Marnita). We will be working on a special quilt to honor Robin....a quilt that we will give to Robin's son, Taylor. Then we will go to the cemetary to visit her grave.   We will share stories of Robin and we will remember the beautiful woman that she grew up to be and we will probably shed a tear or two because we miss her so much.

For now the doctor is out.......remembering.

Happy 7th Birthday Dear Caleb!!!

2011-04-30T21:48:00.000-05:00

Birthday's have always been something to celebrate in my family. I loved planning the fun birthdays for Sarah each year....there was the Burger King party, the McDonald's party, the Chucke Cheese party, then later the skating rink parties and overnight parties. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated!! When Caleb came along we did the small family party for him the first couple of years and then when he turned 4 we did a fun cookout party at the park with lots of friends. As 5 approached we were at the point where we knew Caleb didn't enjoy crowds and was not a social person so when I asked him about a party he said no. So we did the low key thing for him. Same for when he turned 6....no party (his choice).   A couple of weeks before he turned 7 I asked him again about having a party and inviting friends from church....same response ....no party.....I tried to bribe him into a party ... suggesting we could go bowling (one of his favorite things) or go skating.... but he was adament about it....NO PARTY!   So I didn't plan a party. In the meantime he had completed some medical testing and was diagnosed with Aspberger's and anxiety disorder.   He was given meds for the anxiety and we soon noticed the change in his behavior where it didn't bother him as much to be around others. So the day before he turned 7 we attended a birthday party for a good friend (who was turning 40!) and Caleb still didnt' handle the crowd very well but he would talk to people one on one.   He had a conversation with a good friend of ours and explained to her that he wasn't having a birthday party or getting any presents since his birthday was on a Sunday..... ummm, he wasn't having a party because he didn't want one ....and, he had presents --- we had already bought one of his presents and he had gotten presents in the mail from Sarah and Grandma Ratliff!!     I was in shock....he really wanted to have a party....he talked about it on the way home that evening....he really wanted to open some presents and have a cake....oh my gosh...it is 10:00 at night and I have to pull together a party for Caleb!!!!

I get on my cell pronto and call my sister to tell her we are having a birthday party for Caleb at her house after church on Sunday!!! I pass Caleb off to sweet hubby and head to Walmart....they are the only place open at 10 pm on a Saturday night .....fill up a cart with fun presents to be given to him from his cousins, aunt, and nana as well as a couple of things from mom and dad.   I also buy some cupcakes and his favorite iced cookies.

On Sunday morning I present Caleb with breakfast in bed ....his favorite....strawberry poptarts!!! (Sweet hubby isn't home on Sunday morning since he had to leave early for a High Council visit to another church unit).

Later that day we meet up at my sister's hosue for a surprise birthday event for Caleb. I love that he was so surpised about everything.

He enjoyed opening presents from his cousins, aunt and nana!

When sweet hubby arrived a little later, he sent Caleb out to his truck to get a diet coke...

only Caleb found this instead!

The funny part about the 4 wheeler is that Grandma Ratliff sent Caleb a gift card in the mail and Caleb wanted to use it to buy a 4 wheeler....

I had a hard time trying to convince him he was a little short on the money!!!

Sweet hubby walked behind Caleb on this 4 wheeler all afternoon.....he even reset the gas flow 3 different times to make it go very SLOW!!!! I was more afraid that sweet hubby would have a heart attack over Caleb riding than Caleb getting hurt himself ont he thing!!! They have finally compromised on the rules (and yes there are many rules!!!)

Happy Birthday my sweet Caleb!!!!

For now the doctor is out.....thinking that maybe next year when sweet Caleb turns 8 we can have a real birthday party....one can always hope and plan!!!

Miracle of Miracles

2011-04-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

Last year Caleb played baseball for the 1st time. He really loved playing and wanted to play again this year. We started out with the same team he played for last year....but, the team had advanced to a level that Caleb couldn't work with. In baseball there are times when you have to turn on a dime or move fast in a different direction....Caleb can't do that and it became very obvious that playing on a regular baseball team wasn't going to work for Caleb. Last year Caleb could use his own bat but this year he wouldn't be able to use his own bat since it was a t-ball bat. Caleb couldn't comprehend this since he is OCD and MUST keep things the same. There were several other issues as well...but mainly for me it was very painful to see this little guy feeling so lost on the field after such a great time last year.

After doing some checking around we found Mircale League. We registered and waited for the call back. Finally it came and Caleb had a team. He plays for the Astros and has a great coach.

I explained to Caleb that he would get to play baseball on a team with kids who were just like him, and kids who are in wheelchairs or walkers or kids who are like his aunt Mona (down syndrome). He was excited and volunteered to push wheelchairs if needed.

Each player is assigned a buddy. The buddy is on the field with the players and at bat with the players. They use special equipment for each player ...larger round bats and softer balls or larger balls. They have balls that ping so the blind child knows where to swing to hit the ball, then a coach uses a clicker and walks backwards towards the base so the blind child and buddy know where to run towards the bases. It is AMAZING and WONDERFUL to watch these special children play ball. EVERY child gets to hit the ball and every child plays in the field. It is non-competion this year but next year he can play competion if he chooses.

In the fall he will get to meet A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee.....I think I am more excited about this than he is since I LOVE and WATCH baseball!!!!

A very nervous Caleb

at bat

Caleb and his buddy

Caleb hit ball twice and ran the bases. There are no outs and the last child up to bat hits a GRAND SLAM to clear the bases.

We plan to go watch our old team (the Bulldogs) play ball and support them. We are excited to spend our Saturdays at the Junior Deputy field watching and cheering for our new team - the ASTROS!!

For now the Doctor is out......looking forward to baseball season

and seeing the smiles on some very special children.

Goodbye Taylor Loop Road

2011-03-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

There is an old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well my village existed on Taylor Loop Road with a grandmother who lived across the street, aunts/uncles, cousins for neighbors as well as great aunts/uncles, 2nd and 3rd cousins living down the street.

Growing up my goal was to leave "Taylor Loop." Anywhere would be better. I did leave and then I came back. I left once more and then came back with my little girl in tow. It's funny but the entire time I lived away from my "village" all I could think about was raising my own child in that safe village instead of in California where we lived.

Taylor Loop meant a lot to me as child growing up......

It was where grandma lived.......

she wiped our tears away, fed us a meal, and "took a switch" to our legs when we disobeyed.....she greeted us with hugs and a smile and a place to warm our feet and hands after playing outside in the cold.....she taught us things from the scriptures - like not to envy what others had and be grateful for what we did have.....she taught us how to celebrate the 3rd of July and told us ghost stories...

.she taught us family came first no matter what and family will always be there for you

in the best of times and in the worst of times.

It was where I played with my cousins......

they lived in every direction......we rode our bikes to Rainey's market and to the railroad dump.....we played 4-square in the street.....softball in the field......caught tadpoles in the creek and lightening bugs at night.....we slept in lawn chairs on the 3rd of July so we could hear stories from our parents youth.....

we fought and then we made up.

It was where my parents built our house.....

gave us a yard to play in......taught us to ride bikes then taught us to ride the mini-bike and later motorcycles.....let Robin have a horse (for a short time).....taught us how to play softball and

told us stories of our heritage.

Eventually the developers came to our village and began dismantling it.....

starting on the far side and working thier way towards us....some said this is a good thing, while others deemed it the end of a good thing...either way, it couldn't be stopped. One by one property began to sell and larger homes in developed subdivisions started popping up all around....then a new school was built (on the land where my grandma lived, where we held 3rd of July bar-b-ques, where we played, where we existed)....but that wasn't enough....new roads came through and then the name change came about.....Taylor Loop (west end ) became LaMarche Drive.... but through all of the changes my family held on to their property (even though they hadn't lived there in many years)....that is until this week....

This week....

the property sold.

And it is time to say.....

Goodbye Taylor Loop Road

Your village of love will certainly be missed.

For now, the doctor is out.....remembering that a long time ago, there was a village...and in the village lived many important people....grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins...lots and lots of family

It's a Snow Day!!

2011-01-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Snow days are rare in Arkansas and when they happen it shuts us completely down because we don't have the equipment needed to maintain clear roads, etc. It started snowing on Sunday afternoon and within an hour everything was completely covered. In all we got about 6 inches of snow here and some parts of the state got up to 8 - 10 inches.

When I was a kid I loved snow days!! I loved getting in my daddy's truck and driving down to a local parking lot where we did 360's or donuts as some call it. Or we would gather up a sled and go over a few streets to this huge hill and ride the sled down that hill. We would stay out until we were totally frozen then come in warm up and go out in it again.

I was very excited for this good amount of snow and the opportunity that Caleb would have in getting to play in. We lost our power 2 hours after the snow began falling and didn't get it back on until the next morning. Sweet hubby and I decided to take Caleb over to my sister's house since we didn't have heat and so he would be able to play out in the snow with his cousins. I called the next morning to see how things were going and to ask my neice to take a lot of pictures of Caleb in the snow so that I would have them for my scrapbook.....that is when Caleb informed everyone that he WASN'T going out in that stuff!!! AND HE DIDN'T GO OUT. AT. ALL. He didn't want to build a snowman. He didn't want to slide around on a sled. He didn't want to have a snowball fight. He didn't care about the snow at all.

So here are my snow pictures of the big event:

The windshield of my truck

My shoes

Later that night sweet hubby took me to my fabric store to pick up some things and then out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant. As we are walking out I snapped a quick picture of Caleb in the snow ....he was not happy with me and it isn't a good picture but it is all that I have.

Caleb in the snow of January 2011

Hopefully this won't be our last snow of the season. Hopefully I can talk Caleb into playing outside in the snow next time.....

For now the doctor is out.......remembering her own fun days of playing in the snow with her family.

Time to make the new year's resolutions.....

2011-01-01T00:37:00.000-06:00

It is now January 1, 2011 --- I mean right this minute! So I guess that means the beginning of the new year resolutions....ummm not exactly since they aren't ever kept. So instead of resolutions I will just set some goals for the upcoming year; goals with objectives, that can be measured....after all I am a researcher and that is one of the things we do.

Goals:

1. Organization.

I used to be the most organized person on the earth....a planner in hand and a list in the other. But I stopped working fulltime about 7 years ago and that organization just went out the window, not all at once but slowly over the last few years. However, I have found that when you lose your organizational skills you end up with clutter....in every part of your life so it is time to remove the clutter.

a. Once you have organization, you have a clean house always...

I remember those days...

b. you have more time or scheduled time that allows you to sew more.....

c. and quilt more......

d. then I can do more scrapbooking and updating of scrapbooks...

e. more time to play with Caleb....

f. more time to be efficient in planning my dinner meals with

sweet hubby and Caleb and maybe actually cooking them....

g. with organization there is time for exercising as well as playing

tennis a couple of times a week without feeling guilty for taking

the "me" time.....

h. organization will help me to work on "me".....removing the clutter

that is within me giving me more time for personal prayer and

scripture reading; time to meditate on the good things in my

life......

Wow, just one goal for the year....ORGANIZATION....with a few objectives to achieve it.

Ummm, hopefully this won't be like the usual new year's resolutions that have vanished by the end of January.....

For now the doctor is out.....wishing each and everyone a very happy new year and may you all set your goals for the year....

Re-post of The Wind Beneath My Wings

2010-12-18T11:34:00.000-06:00

Sweet hubby and I just celebrated 16 years of marriage and I thought instead of a new post on the blog I would just do a re-post of one from last year.

THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS!!

It's no secret I had a very bad 1st marriage. I went into that marriage full of life, happiness, and on top of the world. I left that marriage a very broken person, wondering if I could ever become my old self again, wondering about my self worth, my own intelligence, my skills as a mother, and myself as an individual. I left that marriage with a beautiful daughter who kept me grounded and gave me hope for the future. I never intended to get married again. NEVER, and I really mean NEVER. Around that time there was a song entitled, "Me and You Against the World," and it became my theme song with my daughter. Eventually I began to gain back my self, the me I knew was there somewhere. I made a decision to go back to college to get the degree I was working on when I married. Not long after this I was introduced to sweet hubby.

(Thank you Kera!).

Sweet hubby was a blessing from the Lord. When sweet hubby asked me out on a date, it was "I would like to take you and Sarah...." What more could a person want than an individual in her life that recognized she came as a package - with a child. Sweet hubby never excluded Sarah in anything we did together while dating. In fact sweet hubby brought along Joshua too (his son from his 1st marriage). Sweet hubby always understood my need for independence and never pushed me on that. Sweet hubby did very gently take care of me. At this time in my life I was very serious about everything...working, raising a child by myself, and working on my BA....I had forgotton how to laugh or have fun...sweet hubby brought laughter and fun back into my life.

After dating for six years (yes, six years) sweet hubby and I were married. Sweet hubby was very understanding when I wanted separate checking accounts. At this time I was just finishing up my Master's Degree. Sweet hubby was very supportive when I spent hours working on my thesis. Sweet hubby was also supportive when I took a research job at the university which required a lot of travel. Then when the university asked me to teach 2 undergraduate classes at night, sweet hubby was very supportive again. Sweet hubby took over the household things so that I could live my dream of teaching at a university. Sweet hubby became the chauffer for Sarah taking her to school each day and eventually to early morning seminary.

When I told sweet hubby I was ready to get my doctorate he was right there beside me. I was working as an evaluator for a non-profit at the time and getting a doctorate meant driving 2.5 hours one way to Memphis two days a week. Sweet hubby closed down the business early two afternoons a week to drive with me to Memphis. Working fulltime and taking classes began to take up more and more of my time. Sweet hubby once again took over the household stuff. As I sat at a computer every evening working on projects, research papers, residency project, and finally dissertation sweet hubby would miraculously show up with a plate of dinner for me to eat while typing away. With a doctorate program comes many opportunities to present papers at conferences. As each conference came up sweet hubby proudly sent me away to make my mark on the world of research. In order to really make my mark in the world of research conferences became international. Again, sweet hubby proudly sent me on my way to do what I dreamed of doing and continues to support me each year as I come running in to tell him my paper was accepted at the Barcelona conference, the Belfast conference, and the most recent - Cambridge conference. Sweet hubby holds our house together when I am working fervently on papers for publication. Sweet hubby encourages me constantly to reach for those stars.

Sweet hubby never balked when I said I wanted to go visit Sarah - whether in Utah, Kansas or New York, he would smile and send me on my way. Sweet hubby is also very understanding about my yearly ski trips with my aunt or my trips with my sister and mom.

Sweet hubby is an example of service to me, never complaining when asked to do service for others or fulfilling his callings within our church. When sweet hubby and I got married my theme song, "You and Me Against the World" went out the door and was replaced by, "The Wind Beneath My Wings." Sweet hubby gives me the courage, the love, the support, and the desire to reach for the stars and live my dreams. I am truly blessed to have sweet hubby in my life. Sweet hubby is my everything and more. Sweet hubby is the wind beneath my wings.

For now the doctor is out....thinking about how truly blessed she is having sweet hubby in her life.

Christmas is Back....

2010-12-14T11:18:00.001-06:00

5 years ago I abandoned Christmas. 5 years ago I stopped sending out my Christmas cards; I stopped making my goodie baskets for friends and associates; I stopped doing the extra fun stuff that is all Christmas; and I didn't put up a tree. 5 years ago I didn't care if Christmas came or not --- 5 years ago I lost my sister and my dad.....Christmas was never to be the same again.....I just didn't want to deal with any of it. It has taken 5 years for Christmas to fully return to our home.

For the past 5 years we have run from Christmas.....going to Kansas the first year because there were no memories of my sister and my dad there....it was a different kind of day for us. 4 years ago, we put up the tree but we didn't do much of anything else since the day after Christmas my daughter was having surgery to remove the football size tumor from her ovary. 3 years ago we put up the tree but nothing else. 2 years ago we didn't put up the tree but instead went to NYC to spend the time with Sarah; last year we began our trek back to Christmas at home. We put up the tree and we spent it together as a family.

This year Christmas came back to our home in full force. It hasn't been easy but it is here. This year I put up our tree. This year I pulled out all things Christmas to decorate the house.

This year I made an advent calendar for Caleb

and the Christmas Tree Box

and the new Christmas tree skirt

decorated

our tree

This year there is an elf who sits on our shelf in a different place each morning. This year Caleb and I search our home every morning to see where he is and giggle at the many crazy places we find him.

This year I am sending out Christmas cards. This year I am making the goodie baskets again. This year the music is on in our house everyday. This year we will go look at Christmas lights.

This year we are celebrating the birth of Christ.

This year we will remember fondly of the many Christmas' that we had with our family when we were all here to celebrate. We will remember Robin and we will remember my dad....and we will miss them terribly but we will make it through this day with joy and love in our hearts.

For now the doctor is out......remembering a certain Christmas where 3 little girls snuck out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to see what Santa brought to us......

Is it Leonard, Bob, or Lizzie????

2010-12-01T12:35:00.001-06:00

I walked downstairs to my office this morning and found this:

During the chaos of finding the lizard my daughter Sarah called me on my cell phone......to unintentionally add more chaos!!! How could Sarah add chaos to the already chaotic situation, well let me tell you.....

When it rains at our house or the cold sets in we tend to get lizards....they slither their way into our downstairs (which is my office and Caleb's playroom that used to be Sarah's bedroom). Last year while Sarah was staying with us she would name the lizards she found in her room.....Larry, Liza, Lisa, etc.

This is what happened this morning after discovering the lizard:

Caleb: I can get my bug catcher and keep him as my pet!!
Me: Absolutely not!!!
Phone rings. It is Sarah. I explain to her what is going on.
Sarah: Is it Larry? Has he come back?
Me: No, this is BIG!!!
Caleb: It's real big and his name is Bob!!
Sarah: No, you cant' name him Bob, it's Leonard!!!
Caleb: laughing, no I am naming him Bob and he is my pet!
Me: He is not a pet and he is leaving!!!
Sarah: laughing hysterically, you have to name him Leonard!!
Me: I have to get dad in here to get rid of him!
Caleb: No, I want to keep him in my bug catcher and name him Bob.
Sarah: Caleb, you have to name him Leonard.
Me: Stop naming him he is leaving!!!!!!
Me: Sarah I have to go so I can get in touch with dad to get rid of him....click

So I call sweet hubby and tell him to get in the house as soon as he can!!! Thank goodness he was here today!! He comes into the house LAUGHING.......I am so confused...

Me: Why are you laughing?
SH: I guess you found the lizard.
Me: YOU KNEW THERE WAS A LIZARD IN MY OFFICE!!!!!!!!!
SH: I tried to get him out a couple of days ago but he got away from me.
Caleb: His name is BOB!!! And I want him for my pet!!!
Me: Get that lizard out of here NOW!!!
SH to Caleb: You are naming him Bob? That is a good name!!

As sweet hubby is catching the lizard and letting it go far away in our yard, Caleb looks at me and says, you know mom, he might be a Lizzy....

For now the doctor is out......searching online to find out how to keep slithering Larry, Lisa, Liza, Leonard, Bob or Lizzie out of my office!!!!

Food on a stick......dipped, battered, and fried.....

2010-10-15T23:10:00.001-05:00

Every year, usually the 1st couple of weeks in October, the state fair comes to town. I LOVE THE FAIR!!! My mom tells me that she walked around the fair 2 days before I was born just to get her labor going.....I keep going back every year!!!

I remember as a child my dad loading us all up to go to the fair....walking around, riding rides, and going to the rodeo.   Then later as teens he would take a bunch of us and drop us off to enjoy the fair with our friends (unfortunately you can't do that these days).

Then when I moved Sarah and myself back to here from CA I would bundle her up and off we would go to ride the rides and take in the fun stuff. Life at the fair became even better after I met sweet hubby. Sweet hubby had connections.......you know, the best kind of connections......food on a stick connections (friends who owned concession stands at the fair). I mean hey, that is what the fair is all about isn't it ....that food on a stick kind of thing!!!   And, here lately it is anything that can be battered, dipped and fried on a stick....oreos, snickers, twinkies, potatoes, gator, you name it and they can put it on a stick and fry it.

Over the years our traditional of going to the fair and getting food on a stick has continued. Sweet hubby and I spent years taking Sarah and Josh to the fair and now we are enjoying taking Caleb to the fair. When Sarah went away to college at BYU she missed out on going to the fair with us, but sweet hubby fixed her up with a taste of the fair......sweet hubby bought a four pack of homemade cinnamon rolls (Sarah's favorite thing from the fair) and he then took this package and OVERNIGHTED it to her at BYU!!!! Those were the most EXPENSIVE cinnamon rolls ever but Sarah LOVED getting them.   She has missed many years of the fair since but we think of her as we walk past the cinnamon roll booth.   One of my favorite years was when the fair came right after getting my braces off after several years......I told sweet hubby the first thing I wanted was corn on the cob (on a stick!!)..   It was sooo good!!!   Sweet hubby has a great love for that apple dip in caramel on a stick!

Caleb isn't much on cinnamon rolls or the other food on a stick but he loves the rides and getting a slice of pizza at the fair. Sweet hubby and I took Caleb on Thursday evening and met up with my Kristen, Bailey, Bryan, and my 2 brothers for an evening of riding the rides.

On Friday morning, my sister and I took the kids back (for kiddie day)

so we could see the exhibits and animals. Lots of fun both times.

I had to use my iphone for pictures since the battery was dead on the camera!!!

Sweet hubby and Caleb eating nachos

Caleb getting ready for the kiddie bungie jump!

Caleb and Kristen looking at the fish exhibit.

Caleb loved the petting zoo.

It is so hard to believe the fair will run it's course this weekend and we will have to wait another year to see what new food on a stick item that can be dipped, battered and fried up for the many who will come out to consume it.....yum, yum......
For now the doctor is out.......wondering if she can come up with a great "food on a stick" to sell at the fair next year and make her millons in the process.....ummmm, any suggestions??????

Trouble and Double Trouble

2010-10-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

We met when we were 13 going on 14....at a church swim party. She had just moved to Arkansas from Texas. She went to school in the LR district; I went to school in Pulaski County. She lived in a very nice subdivision; I lived in the country. At the time the only thing we had in common was the fact that we went to the same church. We hit it off from the very beginning and became fast best friends. We were always together and always up to something. One Sunday we walked into our building together and a dear sweet man was standing at the end of the hall as we came down. He shook his head and smiled at us then said, "Here comes trouble and double trouble." I will let you guess as to who is trouble and who is double trouble!!!
We spent the next four years doing everything together; planning our dates together; what we would wear to the next dance; getting our driver's license; planning our 1st semester at BYU; and just planning our lives out. We shared everything -- laughter and tears; celebrations and heartbreaks; if you saw one you saw the other -- we were always together.

Michele and Connie
ready for a 50's church dance

If you drew a line in the sand, we always crossed it, but not so far that we couldn't get back (we both have daughters who would never try to cross the line -- we laugh about this). We were adventurous; we were inquisitive; and most of all we thought we could conquer the world just because we were us.

Gone with the Wind spoof
during intermission at a church dance

She was there for me when my dad was severely hurt in a motocycle accident; she was my friend when I couldn't spend money at the mall but she could; she was my sewing buddy as we planned our outfits for special times (dances, youth conferences, etc);   She was there for me as I cried my tears when my high school sweetheart dumped me during that 1st semester at BYU. I was there for her when relationships ended for her as well.    She was there with me as we celebrated my engagement and I with her as we celebrated her engagement. She was there with me when I felt the first kick of the sweet baby I was carrying and we celebrated with hugs and tears.

She was on her to the temple the day I got married, but didn't make it due to a minor accident. I was planning my trip to the temple when she got married, but didn't make it since that sweet baby I was carrying was trying to come too early.

She came to California and then to Arkansas to visit me. I went to Utah and later Texas to visit her.

She called me a couple of days after my sweet baby was born --- and we talked, cried, and celebrated even though there was a time difference and it was very late for me.     She later let me cry on her shoulder when my marriage fell apart. She cheered me on and then we celebrated the birth of her first child.

We raised our children with letters back and forth; then email back and forth; and a few visits between Arkansas and Texas.   We both ended up with older children and a much younger child. In fact our little boys are only 6 months apart and we share the joys of being an older mom and the trials that come with it. We watched our boys play together in a Texas backyard while we chatted about the universe and all that we wanted to accomplish and all that we did accomplish.

Our kids have asked us about our teen years but we don't tell. We could never tell that our church leader walked into the church kitchen one Wednesday evening to find us dancing.....on top of the kitchen counters....no, we won't tell that. Or, we won't share with them the time we locked a church leader out of her own car (while we were in it) and then the church leader actually climbed on top of said car....umm, maybe we will keep that one to ourselves; most likely we will never tell that after Sunday school and before Sacrament meeting, we would take my little Honda car and drive to Burns park for the afternoon. Not much to tell on this one, oh, except that I had a driver's license and she didn't; but I taught her to drive the 4 speed Honda while we spent the afternoon in Burns park....I think we need to keep that to ourselves.

No matter how many years go by before we see each other again, we pick right up and we are us again. Our friendship began 37 years ago and it is as strong today as it was back then.   We are trouble and double trouble.....we are us.

We were 2 southern belles.......

who grew up to be 2 southern moms.....

Connie & Michele -- 2010

For now the doctor is out.....planning a reunion for trouble and double trouble

plus a couple of other girlfriends who helped with the trouble.....

Utah on a Prayer

2010-10-08T17:33:00.001-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to travel!! BUT, when I travel I usually know several months in advance that I will be traveling and I have time to prepare for it. Not so on this trip.....

About 3.5 weeks ago my daughter, Sarah, came to me and said that she had been fasting and praying about what she should be doing at this point in her life (instead of living at home with parents - actually there is another story to this!). She moved here from NYC last year to re-charge her batteries after a very stressful time there with her job. We loved having her here but I knew that after several months she was not happy here. She needed more in her life. She needed to be able to go forward with her career and those opportunities didn't exist here (she applied for tons of jobs in and out of her field with no response!). So back on track.....she came to me with the following conversation (paraphrased since I don't have perfect memory!):

S: Mom, I have been fasting and praying about what to do.

Me: Ok, so what answer did you get?

S: I need to move to Utah.

Me: Wow, ok, that sounds good. Umm, what will you do in Utah?

S: I don't really know. But, I need to be there by General Conference weekend.

Me: That is in like 3 weeks. I don't know if we can do that but we will certainly do everything we can to make it happen. You know, I have to present a paper at a conference in N.O. the week before conference don't you? Now, how do we tell sweet hubby about this?????

Sweet hubby's response: That sounds like a plan but we will all go out there with you. I would rather not have you drive that far by yourself.... (I guess he has forgotten that she has driven that road many times by herself!).

So within 3.5 weeks she applied for a couple of jobs and secured housing -- after a struggle to get into the right place. We started packing her up -- again, not knowing how we were going to pull this off since it definitely wasn't in our budget for the month to rent u-hauls and car pullers! But decided that we must all trust that if this is what the Lord wanted then He would provide the way for it to happen.

Sweet hubby came up with a way to move her things cost efficiently and we all decided to allow her to use my SUV for the time being (she doesn't own a car since she didn't need one in NYC). We knew going out it would be a fast trip -- no frills, no extra spending, just the essentials!!! Not exactly my kind of trip but hey, I can make sacrifices for my daughter!!!

So here are a few of the pictures of us moving Sarah to Utah --- I call it Beverly Hills style without the rocking chair on top!!!

All loaded down with Sarah's STUFF!!!!

Including her bike!!!

Adding the address to the Countess (gpa)

The Doctor working.....thank goodness for mobile internet and cell phones!!

Caleb settling into the truck for a very LONG drive!!
Blanket - check, Pillow - check, Stuffed Animals - Check
We are OFF!!!

We had a great trip going out there for the most part. Caleb did get altitude sickness as we went through the Colorado mountains. He started out so excited to see the mountains and talking about where I go skiing and then crash.....he was sick!!! But once we were out of the mountains he perked up again and had a great time.

As we are traveling towards Utah on Saturday, sweet hubby recieved a phone call from a missionary couple who used to be here in LR (in our ward). They just found out we were coming out and invited us to stay the night at thier home. Again, the Lord provides when we have faith. It worked out beautifully for us and we so enjoyed getting to see them again as well as meet some of their children and grandchildren.

Caleb with the Kolterman's

Later we dropped Sarah off at her new condo (and about 6 people came over to help unload the truck).

We left out of LR on Friday morning but on Thursday morning Sarah got a phone call about one of the positions she had applied for in UT. They needed to interview her on Monday!!! Monday was the LAST day for interviews!!!! We made it and she went to her interview on Monday then afterwards we all went to IKEA in Draper to get some things for her condo. I LOVE IKEA!!! I want to buy, buy, buy when I go there but sweet hubby pulled in the reins and reminded me that this trip wasn't about me but about getting Sarah settled there. So, I didn't get anything special for me from IKEA but we did get some neat things for Sarah and that was a lot of fun!!!

Caleb enjoying a cinnamon roll at IKEA...

My beautiful daughter, Sarah, enjoying frozen yogurt at IKEA

Sweet hubby showing me we spent all of his money....so not true.....he has hides his money!!

Sweet hubby and Caleb putting IKEA furniture together

Caleb loves getting to use the power tools....just like dad!!!

One very tired little boy....fell asleep on the super pillow.

Our plan was to leave Utah on Monday afternoon but after the trip to IKEA we decided to sleep at Sarah's condo and leave early Tuesday. Needless to say it was a very rushed trip but we had a great time and we are looking forward to many more visits with Sarah in her new home. By the way, she got the job!!! After interviewing on Monday, they called her on Tuesday and offered her the position......now she is back in the game and loving it!!!

For now, the doctor is out......planning her next trip to Utah.....thinking maybe she should go when there is snow on the mountains so she can slip some skiing in while there....ummm, yeah, that sounds good!!!

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.....

2010-09-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

In addition to sensory processing disorder my sweet Caleb is also OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder - which can create problems in taking medicine. It means you MUST have a schedule or a rhythm to everything. It means you must eliminate any and all clutter which becomes chaos to him (thus overloading the senses). I haven't accomplished all of this yet but I am working on it. Caleb had his rhythm down for taking his medicine and I left to go out of town on business for over a week.....breaking the rhythm for him. Then I left to go on a cruise with my sister, mom, and daughter (along with 3 aunts and a cousin) again breaking the rhythm. So the battle began in trying to establish the routine for taking meds. We fought....every morning. Some days I won. A couple of days he won. But after many trials over the past couple of weeks I think I have found his new rhythm.

a little of this:

medicine inside the reeses peanut butter cup:

the bribe:

and a timer set at 10 minutes.

With the instructions -- you must take both meds before the timer goes off...

at that time you can choose ONE bakugan from the 3 pak for your treat.

Caleb is fixated on bakugans right now (one week it might be legos or cars or the ds). So I tried the if you take your meds for 5 days straight then you can buy a package of bakugans -- which worked but it was still a tug a war to do this. So hence the timer and immediate reward.

The first 2 days he didn't make it before the timer went off. It was sad for both of us that he didn't get to choose the bakugan. But today -- SUCCESS!!!!

Notice he still has the medicine in his mouth trying to chew it up and swallow -- the taste is hard on him. I am so PROUD of my little guy for finally beating the clock!!!!

I will probably go broke but some things are just worth it.

For now the doctor is out.....headed to Toys R Us, Target, and WalMart to buy more bakugans!!!

GNO - Indian Style

2010-08-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

My friend/colleague, Sri, took me out for my first ever Indian lunch. She decided to take me to an Indian restaurant in Mid-town Manhattan. At first I was very apprehensive since I have the funky taste bud issue and I get really nervous when trying new foods.....I mean REALLY nervous!!! I almost go into panic mode when put in a situation that I have to try something new and am not sure if I will go into the gag reflex. Since my daughter, Sarah, has been home from her two years in NYC she has done a lot of the cooking (ok, who am I kidding, she has done ~~most of the -~~ umm, no, honestly she has done ALL of the cooking) and she has introduced a lot of new things to my diet....because of this I wasn't as apprehensive as I normally am about trying new foods.....Indian food here I come!!!!!

First, all, I need to say that Sri likes the best of the best and so we didn't just go to any ole Indian restaurant - we went to a very nice one. They brought out the appetizer (a very flat bread with seeds - I can't remember the name) then we decided to order two different things so that I could try both....chicken and shrimp -- can't go wrong with that!!! The main course also came with a cabbage dish and lentl soup....and she also ordered the naan (flat bread) which was to die for!!!! It was soooo good we ordered some more!!!

Appetizer - very flat and crispy and the Balsamic Rice

Naan - served with a small amount of melted butter on it....yummmm!!!

Main course -- Curry Chicken and Scrimp in a tomato and different spices mixture
Both were wonderful!!!!

Dessert - Mango Ice Cream

You can see the ice cream just wasn't any good at all!!!

Later that evening we went to a dinner party at one of her friends' house in Long Island. This was basically a GNO - Indian style!!!   A couple of the ladies were dressed in their Sari's while others were very casual.
This was a 6 hour dinner party!!!   I honestly don't think I have ever been to a dinner party that lasted 6 hours - but most of my dinner parties don't include glasses of wine!!!

When we arrived we were served drinks (diet coke for me!) and appetizers -- oh, my gosh, they were sooo good -- the hosts' mom was here and she cooked her own Indian recipes --- then they drink more wine, talk, eat, drink, talk, eat, and drink. Then around 9:30 - 10:00 the dinner is actually served --- I could have just had the appetizers and been in heaven!!! The mom served the typical lamb dish, rice, a cucumber/tomato/onion salad, curried cauliflower, cauliflower chutney, and the most unusal dish to me was a curried catfish......I did eat some of it but it wasn't my favorite for sure (I mean I am from the south and we FRY catfish - not bake it with spices). We actually finished the dinner around 11:30!!!

My head bounced back and forth while these ladies spoke Benglish!!!   They had a way of beginning a sentence in Bengali and ending in English....we just laughed because that is how they always talk amongst each other and it was hard for them to curb the Bengali for the non-versed American. But overall it was a fantastic dinner party/GNO for me!!! I might have to try something like that at home....(wonder if Sarah could cook up some Indian food for my party)

For now the doctor is out.....contemplating learning to speak Benglish....umm, wonder how long that would take??????

Leaving on a Jet Plane (with crazy wierd people sitting beside me)

2010-07-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

When I was a child growing up air travel was not an option for my family....just way too much money for a family of 6.   I was 19 when I flew for the first time which involved saving a ton (in 19 yr old terms) of money so that my sister and I could fly to Utah for spring break. How cool is that????? That was also a very uneventful trip (unless you count the kamikaze dive Mimi took over the side of the mountain - not literally but you get the jist). After that first trip I have since been cursed with the abnormal, sometimes super scary, and craziest flights.

When Sarah was born we lived in California. At 2 months of age, I decided that Sarah needed to take her first trip back to the south to meet and re-meet grandparents. And, of course we needed a side trip to visit Mimi in Utah. Traveling with a baby is like moving -- you have to take everything with you.   So we are loaded up on this plane traveling from LA to Salt Lake City and everything is going great. We have a seat by a man (who doesn't talk to us- ok by me) and a baby who is doing great on this flight. However, I notice that we have circled SLC several times -- I mean how many times do you pass the SLC Temple in flight - once I saw it 5 times I knew something wasn't right.   About that time Sarah is wet and hungry and most definitely not happy - and the flight attendant is making that dreaded announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, there is something wrong with our landing gear. So we are circling downtown SLC to use up as much fuel as we can. When we get ready to land we will all need to get into the emergency landing position with your head down on your knee."   Ok, what the heck????   People are trying to stay calm, etc, but tears are coming -- thoughts of death and family, etc., etc.   All I can think of is that I have a baby who wants to be changed RIGHT NOW!!!!   So we circle another 30 minutes or so. The man sitting next to me is becoming a little agitated with this crying baby beside him. He gets into the overhead bin to get his coat so that if we crash land he will be warm I guess.   The man behind me sticks his head between the seats and asks if he can help me with anything and tells me that he will get my coat for me and that right now his only concern is for me and my crying baby (my heart melts and the tears flow).   Why couldn't he be my seat partner?????    Needless to say we all got into the crash landing position and made it safely to the ground -- with firetrucks everywhere waiting on us.....the landing gear worked and we landed without incident but I always remember fondly the man behind me who helped me with everything (car seat, bags, etc) de-plane.

On one flight from Atlanta to LA, Sarah (18 months) and I were bumped up to 1st class!!!   What a wonderful flight ---- and Boss Hog was in the seat right across from us....this was one of those fun exciting trips where crazy weird people aren't sitting next to you but wonderful flight attendants are constantly wanting to know if they can help you with your toddler, bring you something to drink, eat, read, or whatever will make your flight enjoyable. Boss Hog also had his girlfriend with him and she was very nice to Sarah -- Boss Hog even made goo goo eyes at her. Ahhh, it would be nice to have more trips like that one.....

It is always that seat next to me that scares me the most about flying....I mean I can agonize over who will be the person I have to sit by for x number of hours....will they want to talk, will they be rude, will they take up all the arm space.     For years, I couldn't read on flights due to motion sickness but now they make these wonderful motion sickness bands that I wear on my wrists so that I can read and if I want to ignore the person next to me I pull out the book. But before that glorious time I encountered the strangest seat partner.

We were on a family trip to Hawaii: My dad and mom, Mimi, Sarah, Josh, and me....a lonnnnng 7 hour plane ride.... First thing, on the LR to Dallas leg I am seated next to a rather normal looking guy, until the plane starts to back out of the terminal and head to the run way.....can we say SCARRRRYYYYY!!!!!!    This normal looking man starts talking to his ring!!!!   Then he has this weird hissing laugh after he talks to his ring. Mind you this was way before 9/11 screenings because I know if it were after I would have pull the flight attendant over and BEGGED her to get rid of the scarry talking to your ring guy. I mean who talks to their ring and then does a hissing laugh about it.

So this week I traveled to NYC to visit with my friend/colleague Sri. As I am going through security I see this sweet looking little Japanese woman in a wheelchair saying goodbye to her family. My heart is melting - how sweet!!!   As I board the plane I find that I get to sit in the bulkhead seat (hey it isn't 1st class but it is close!) sweet little Japanese lady is in the center seat....oh, good, this will be a nice ride. Little Japanese lady has a sign around her neck : I don't speak English and I am disabled.   Oh, this will be a QUIET ride.     About that time aisle seat man boards --- as he is putting his luggage in the overhead compartment, little sweet Japanese lady stands up and points to the middle seat --- does a couple of grunt things, continues to look at man and pointing to the middle seat..... the man then sits in the middle seat looks at me and states that he really wanted to sit on the aisle (I am thinking how sweet of him to actually give up his seat for the now grunting not so sweet Japanese lady - and I am wondering what did I do to offend not so sweet Japanese lady --- I took my shower that morning).   Oh, well, the man seems rather harmless and we discuss San Francisco where he is going for a week. During the flight he pulls out his coat - yes that would be his winter jacket - and puts it on. I am dying in the heat with the air vent turned on me and he is putting on his coat!!!   Then he pulls out his printed 12 x 14 page Excel spreadsheet with print so tiny I don't know how in the world he can read it.....yes, I am a little alarmed at the moment....is this the engineering plans of the plane so he can set off the bomb -- he has his coat on ready for something!!!   He would study this sheet for a while and then put it up, then bring it back out. When the plane landed he jumped up and almost knocked down not so sweet Japanese lady to get off the plane...I am thinking oh, crap he set the bomb to go off for so many minutes after he deplaned!!!! I know, I know, I must be demented!!!

I think I need to look at seat partners with a little more compassion or something or maybe fly 1st class -- I wonder if you get crazy weird people as seat partners in 1st class....ummmm...

For now the doctor is out......hoping she can get bumped to 1st class on the flight home from NYC....that sounds like a plan!!!

The Great Cricket Caper

2010-06-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

Caleb spends a lot of time at his aunt Mimi's house He loves spending time with his cousins but sometimes they can get a little tired of entertaining him.   While at Mimi's house, Caleb begs his cousins to go outside with him while he catches crickets for his little bug catcher. Well, the past couple of weeks the heat index has been above 100 degrees here and it is HOT outside. However, this doesn't bother Caleb in the least, but his cousins agree it is hot and they try to get him to come inside as much as possible.

The other day I went to pick him up from Mimi's house but he also wanted his cousin, Kristen, to come home and spend the night at his house so they could catch more bugs....um, yeah, that was very enticing to Kristen!!!    So when Caleb asked Mimi if Kristen could come over for the night she said "no not tonight" and then he asked me - of course I agreed - not tonight.   But that wasn't enough for Caleb....he proceeded to tell Kristen that if she really wanted to come over she could SNEAK into the back of my Explorer to go home with us.   Being the honest person she is Kristen told me of his plan and her own plan which went something like this:

Me: (getting into the driver's seat) "Oh wow, Caleb you are already buckled up and ready to go"

Caleb: "yep, I have been waiting for you"   as he smiles very big.

Me: (put the truck in reverse and backs out of the drive)....."umm, something is wrong with my truck....it feels heavier than it normally does...."

Caleb: "no, it doesn't. just go home"

Me: "No, something is definitely wrong here.....my truck is heavier that it should be"

Caleb:   (with his worried look) "no mom, I caught a lot more crickets - they are in the back - that is why your truck is heavy, just go home"

Me:   "I don't think that is it, maybe I need to look back there to see why it is heavy."

As I climb out of my truck to look in the back Caleb puts his head in the palms of his hands with the defeated look of oh, crap now I am busted and then says to Sarah "I don't want her to look back there!!!!"     Because at this point he realizes that I am going to find Kristen in the back of my truck (which I do and then go on to play Kristen's game of getting caught in the act). Kristen meekly looks at Caleb, shrugs her shoulders and says, " Caleb, I am sorry I guess I can't go home with you" as she stifles her huge smile of relief that she doesn't have to go home with him and help him catch crickets for his bug catcher. As Kristen was going inside of the house I asked her if she was worried that I wasn't going to stop (since I did drive out of the drive way and down the road just a little) and she kind of smiled sheepishly and said, yeah I thought maybe you were going to make be walk a ways back up the road.....of course I would never do that to her.....afterall, this was her little plan of getting out of having to catch crickets with Caleb!!!

For now the doctor is out......releasing those poor crickets back into the grass so they can RUN, RUN, RUN, far away from Caleb!!!!

Summer Reading

2010-06-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite hobbies is reading. I LOVE to read!!! I remember being the dork in high school literature/English class who couldn't wait to get the semester reading list. All around me were friends groaning and moaning about having to read this book or that book. Usually those friends would chose the book with the least number of pages (and read several) for thier assignments - not me - I wanted to read what I wanted to read whether it was 100 pages or 1000 pages. I read Gone with the Wind during the summer between 7th and 8th grade - fell in love with Scarlett and Rhett. Then I moved on to the Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights), Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Crisco) and other authors/books that I wish I could re-read again and again. But I keep finding new books that NEED my time. When I was in college I would keep lists of books on my refrigerator throughout the semesters that I wanted to read when I had MY time back again and could pick up any book in the world other than a text book. The list grew and grew. I have conquered quite a few books from that long ago list and am working through the 300+ books on my current list here. I also keep a running list on the side of my blog of what I have read, plan to read and am currently reading.....yes, dork queen, I know!!

I like to read good literature books but sometimes I just need to read the no brainer, no thinking books. Put a book in my hand and I usually don't come up for air until I am at least half way through it or finished with it. It is sad that I can't control that strange habit ummm, or is it?

Because I love books so much and want to spend any amount of time reading I decided long ago that I had to teach my own children that same love of books/reading - I succeeded with my daughter, Sarah, who now has her own small library with almost 1,000 books of her own. After all, I did pay her to read classics while we were on road trips (beginning at the age of 10 and is another blog of itself). I am currently working on Caleb's love of reading....which is proving to be a little harder!!! Caleb loves books - as long as they are about spiders, bugs, fish, frogs, snakes, etc. He loves going to the library and checking out books - but only books on the above topics. He will fill his bag with at least 10 to 12 books each time but when I try to steer him towards books that I want him to read problems arise. Which brings me to the actual reason behind this post.

This is what I am reading this summer:

I am learning how to deal with a child who has sensory processing disorder. I didn't even know this was a disorder until my pediatrician pointed it out to me at our last visit ("I think Caleb has sensory processing disorder so I am going to write a script/referral for therapy"). With Caleb I am expanding my mind once again. Learning new things about how to deal with obsessive compulsive disorders and now sensory processing disorders.

I love my little guy.
He is absolutely darling -
when he isn't having meltdowns.
He loves to color coordinate our dinner plates in the cupboard. He wants the red plates on top (so he can easily get them for his meals) then comes the orange, yellows, and greens --
isn't that sweet of him????

He also doesn't like a change in schedule -
if it is a stay home day (as he calls it) then
I absolutely can't change things up and run errands
(meltdowns pursue).

He also loves to create patterns:
"Mom, how about this (as he is trying to get out of brushing his teeth) I brush my teeth tomorrow,
then I don't brush them the next day, then I brush them, isn't that a great pattern?"

Another thing my sweet guy doesn't like is water in the face.
Yes, that creates problems with bathing and especially now while we are working
on swimming lessons.

So until next time, the doctor is out......learning how to be a parent of a child with SPD.....

Just My Luck!!!!!!

2010-05-03T12:36:00.000-05:00

I am not really a supersticious person but sometimes things happen to make us question that.

I needed to go to Denver for an Educational Research Conference since I am presenting a paper. I decided that I wanted to drive to Denver instead of fly. I love a good roadtrip and there is so much to see and do on the way there and back. The night before I am supposed to leave my car overheats and sweet hubby comes to rescue me...he checks it out for me and says everything is a-ok. So on Friday morning I am getting everything together and sweet hubby has to run some errands then comes home and decides that the truck needs an oil change along with a few other things he wants to check out. FINALLY, I am able to go pick up my sister, Mimi, and we head out....at 3:00 PM!!!! We are driving along I-40 minding our own business, laughing, talking and BAMM!!!! My truck starts overheating - this can't be happening - I HAVE TO GO TO DENVER!!!! AND, we are only about an hour outside of Little Rock -- so we pull over at the local small town WalMart parking lot. I call sweet hubby and tell him what is going on. He tells me to sit still and he will bring me a thermostat for my truck because apparently that was the problem all along...(question to myself --- why didn't he change it out before I left----oh, yeah, I am the wife who is last on the list -- haha).

So we have an hour or so to kill while waiting on sweet hubby. There is a Bonanza across the street and we decide to go there for a bite to eat -- big mistake -- super yucky food!!! Then we decide to sit in the parking lot of Wally World and wait. I decided to go into the store to get a book then went back out to the truck to wait. While sitting in my truck waiting (Mimi had gone into the store by then) there were some very dark clouds coming in and then the tornado sirens are going off. I leave the truck for safety in the Wally World. I find my sister and we go to the back of the store to wait out the tornado (that didn't produce). We are quite awful too - you know more like teens- giggling at the oddly dressed people in Wally World on a Friday night (I mean where else do county people go on a Friday night - that is why there is this). While waiting out the storm and walking around the back of the store sis tells me she wants me to look at a couple of things for her girls bedroom - one being a pink framed full length mirror. I reach out to look at it and it slips between my fingers/hand and CRASH on the floor. People around me are trying to distance themselves from me as fast as their legs will run!!! They are giving me that Oh, no you didn't look..........oh yeah, I did!!! That is when the county people of Wally World start laughing at me and telling me I will have 7 years of bad luck....I guess I deserve it for not being very nice to begin with!!! 7 years of bad luck - just my luck if I were supersticious!!!

Oh, yeah, I did make it to Denver and I will be presenting my paper this afternoon and then heading out back home to my sweet family baring no bad luck on the way home......

For now the doctor is out......hoping to avoid running into a black cat or walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella in the house....well you get the picture!!!!

Caleb's Best Friend

2010-03-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

I am not a pet person. There I said it. But my kids love pets.

When Sarah was 4 I decided she needed a dog.

Big mistake on my part!!

I got her a little white puppy.

She loved that puppy. I didn't.

That little puppy was like having 3 kids at the same time. A LOT OF WORK.

We didn't keep him long....he found a new home.

Then when Sarah was about 14 she brought home a baby kitten from a visit with her cousin.

It was her birthday.

She didn't ask me.

I relented and let her keep him.

She still has that cat (Oliver)--- he is the devil, no seriously, he is a crazy cat.

I DO NOT LIKE THAT CAT!!!

I honestly believe that Oliver is schizophrenic. But that is another blog by itself.

Needless to say I didn't want anymore pets.

But I have an almost 6 year old boy......he loves animals of all kinds.

He captured a couple of bugs with his bug catcher and called them his friends.

Very Sad.

I like pets that don't live at my house:

Aunt Betty's bird lives in Florida -- I don't mind visiting him.

My cousin's dog, Harry. I don't mind him visiting us.

I think stuffed animals make perfect pets.

No mess.

No fuss.

But Caleb wasn't buying any of this.

He asked for his own puppy.

Then he asked for his own kitten.

I explained to him that we could visit Mimi's kittens anytime:

But he wanted his own kitten who would love him.

So what was I to do?

I began the search. I hoped the thought would go away.

It didn't.

We found his new best friend online and went to pick her up.

On the way to Whitehall to pick up the new friend.

Caleb is demonstrating how we must hold this new friend.

Very carefully.

Since it was a last minute decision when we found her

I didn't have a carrier ready.

So we used a box.

He named her Ella.

She is 2 months old.

And they love each other already.

Ella follows Caleb everywhere.

I found them here last night:

Cuddled up together in my bed watching TV.

Caleb told me last night - Ella is my new best friend.

I am Ella's daddy now.

We have to be careful when we walk through the house or we here:

SHHH, Ella is sleeping and you will wake her up.

Talk softly so you don't scare Ella.

I have to say Caleb has totally surprised me here - he takes very good care of Ella.

He feeds her. He makes sure she has water.

He even wanted to give her a bath last night.

Thank goodness Sarah caught him while he was running the bath water.

He hasn't touched the litter box yet....oh, but he will eventually!!!

For now the doctor is out.....praying that Ella is normal....since one crazy cat is enough for me...

It's 1, 2, 3 Strikes You're Out!!!!

2010-02-21T22:12:00.000-06:00

My daddy put me on the softball field when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I didn't know which end of the bat to hold or where to stand (btw my daddy loved sharing that story!). I didn't know about running bases, etc. But, I finally learned and enjoyed many years playing softball with kids from my school and neighborhood. My parents spent many evenings watching us play ball and sometimes stepping in to help coach. When my daughter was 6 I put her on the softball field and then became her coach. I coached her for 6 years. There is nothing like summer time and ball parks. We virtually lived there. I love sports. Most all sports.

Now my son is 5 (he will be 6 in April) and I put him on the ball field this past Saturday. He didn't know anything about the bat or how to catch a ball. His throw is not so great either. But he will learn and I soon found out he has a hidden talent for baseball.

One of the Coaches showing Caleb where to stand, how to watch for the ball, etc.

I think he looks so tiny out there!!!

Caleb is on the small side - um, let me rephrase that - he is super small for his age!!! He is not the youngest person on his team but he is the smallest. Most of the other boys are at least a head taller than he is.

One of the first things the coach did was to have them run bases. A couple of little boys started out and then Caleb started his run around the bases. The coach paced each boy before having the next run. Caleb was almost to 1st base when the boy behind him began to run.....as Caleb came up to 2nd base the little boy behind him was in front of him, as Caleb came up to 3rd base, the other little boy behind him was in front of him, and by the time he hit home plate about 4 boys had passed him up. Caleb is not a slow runner.....he just has short little legs that couldn't keep up with the longer legs of others. I have to say it was extremely funny to watch and oh I felt so bad for my little guy running his heart out and then being left behind.

His first day out he learned how to catch the ball - yes he missed quite a few but he got the handle of it. Then it was time to come to the plate for batting practice....I just cringed....I hated the thought of him missing every ball pitched to him (by a pitching machine 37 mph) - the laugh was on me -- Caleb swung and missed the first two pitches and then BAM!!! He connected and wow what a connect - I was almost reduced to tears (not really - I was jumping up and down yelling for my little guy!). Then came the next pitch - BAM!! And then the next pitch -- BAM!!! WOW!!! My baby can hit the ball!!! Now he just needs to know that you run to first after you hit the ball!!!

Coach showing Caleb how to hold the bat, swing, etc.

Getting ready to connect with the ball.

I put the camera away after the first couple of missed swings.

Shame on me.....I missed getting a shot of Caleb connecting with the ball!!!

For now the doctor is out.......anticipating the very first game, the cheering, the excitement.....um, the heat, the humidity...maybe the doctor should rethink this.....nahhhh, it will be worth it!!!!

The Wind Beneath My Wings

2010-02-17T22:34:00.000-06:00

(Thank you Kera!).

For now the doctor is out....thinking about how truly blessed she is having sweet hubby in her life.

And to think.....having a Ph.D. isn't near enough education!!!!!

2010-01-22T13:49:00.000-06:00

For Christmas Santa delivered this huge box with 1,000 lego peices in it. The box stated on the outside "children 5 and up." Santa knew that Caleb was 5 1/2 years old so this should be an appropiate age toy. So on Monday we didn't hold school (MLK day) and decided it was time to open the big box and see what we could do with the contents.

The plan was to take all of this:

and make this:

So we pulled out the directions and started putting it together,

wait, I mean I started putting it together ~ then I took it apart

and started over.

Finally we got to a point where I could direct Caleb

on where to put the pieces:

Notice the laundry on the sofa waiting to be folded....

A long time ago someone told me the laundry will always be there -

the opportunity to play with your child won't -

I choose play instead of laundry - good choice!

Three hours later (YES, 3 HOURS LATER) this is what we built:

And we were extremely proud of ourselves!!!
When I started working the project with Caleb I wasn't aware
that "5 and up" actually meant "engineering degree." I know that now.

Now the firetruck is waiting on the police car, motorcycle, fire station,
police station, etc. to be built so that there is a cute little "city" of made by legos.
I still need to work on that Engineering degree - then we might construct the remaining peices.

For now the doctor is out......thinking seriously about obtaining that engineering degree!!!!

Oh, the places you will go.....

2010-01-17T17:07:00.001-06:00

When I was a little girl my parents made it a priority for us to travel all through our home state of Arkansas - mainly visiting historical sites. Then my parents extended these road trips to include other states. Our vacations were not like other people's vacations. We didn't go to Florida to visit Disney World....no, my parents took us to Florida to visit St. Augustine - the oldest city in Florida where we also visited the Castillo de San Marcos and the Fountain of Youth. However, we did get to go to the beach for an afternoon - such frivolity when there is so much history to see and things to learn (this according to my mom!). Then later it was a trip to Illinois to visit sites for all things Abraham Lincoln and then to historical Nauvoo. When we were in Hawaii, we spent exactly one full day on the beach and the remainder of the time visiting historical Hawaii. When we finally made it to Disney World my dad loaded us up and we went to visit historic Church Street area of downtown Orlando and then on to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. On many of our journeys we saw presidential libraries, all types of monuments as well as historical church sites. Learning vacations became very much a part of my life to the point that I can't visit a place without exploring the historical heritage. I have since made learning vacations very much a part of my own children's lives. We have added visiting universities to our agenda as well. When I took Sarah on her first big road trip to the Northeastern part of the US, we included a visit to Yale University and Harvard University on the agenda. What a wonderful country we live in with so much to offer us in it's beautiful, rich, history.

I got this off of a friends blog and decided to put it on mine. The red states indicate all the states that I have traveled to.....and yes, I have been to all including Hawaii and Alaska. I have been to some states several times and will probably visit them many times again in the future. I love a good road trip and visiting places in my beautiful country!!!

create your own personalized map of the USA

Until next time the doctor is out....planning the next history trip for her family.....thinking maybe close to home - Natches, MS and the Antebellum homes...maybe!!!

Caleb's Corner

2009-12-08T15:22:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we had Caleb tested to see where he is for his fine motor skills, developmental delay, etc. After we got the results back and talked with the psychologist we decided it was time to make some changes for Caleb. We prayed for guidance and we prayed some more and then we got our answer. Homeschool. Yep. Homeschool. Yep, I know, I said it. I admit it. I will NEVER homeschool my child. I ate my words....not so tasty going down. I have since learned that the public or private school setting is not for everyone and as a mom we MUST do what is best for our children. So here we are....homeschooling. Wow, for the first week I thought I must be losing my mind....how in the world was I going to be able to do the homeschool and everything else....then I figured it out....just do it like I do everything else...with passion, with love, with lots of prayer and guidance, with patience (oops, don't have much of that) and without a lot of sleep.

I guess I should address the "why" for homeschool. As most of my close friends and family know, we adopted Caleb. We brought him home from the hospital when he was 2 days old. His birth mom was addicted to meth during her pregnancy and this brought about many problems (physically, mentally, and cognitively) for Caleb. His first few years were very rough. You can actually read more on this in a previous blog. But to the point, we have been working with Caleb the past 5 years on his developmental delay (speech, motor skills, etc.) and on his health (lack of sucking reflex, breathing problems, and low immune system). Caleb has made great progress but just wasn't quite where his teacher thought he should be as a kindergartener. Therefore the reason for the testing. The results: Caleb was far more advanced than we thought. His cognitive skills were well beyond the kindergarten level and his IQ represented this as well. His fine motor skills had improved but could still use more improvement. So why was he behind in his kindergarten class? He needed more individualized instruction. So homeschool was our option and a good option for us.

So we found our curriculum, we made daily plans, we got everything ready....what am I saying....there was no WE, it was ME!!! And then, Caleb and I created a special area in the corner of my office for his "school." And so we began. And Caleb is thriving in his homeschool environment. He loves working on the projects we get to do, on his workbooks, on his reading skills, and everything about school or learning. I hope it lasts!!!

Oliver even enjoys coming to homeschool sometimes!

Did I mention that I only average about 4 hours of sleep? Did I mention that this is hard work? Did I mention that I wanted to be an elementary teacher while in my first years of college and changed my mind after a semester of shadowing a class? Did I mention that I never thought I was cut out for this? Did I mention that I teach adults who are teachers? Yeah, I thought so.....but here I am loving every minute of homeschooling this sweet child.

Until next time, the doctor is out......writing up curriculum plans, searching for projects, searching for sleep, and enjoying my life everyday with my 5 year old.

A new bike for a sweet boy.....

2009-12-08T14:02:00.000-06:00

In the past couple of months there have been several changes for Caleb. First, his pediatrician decided that it was time to begin the ADHD medication that we knew would be coming due to his birth background. With the meds in place Caleb has become a totally different person. He is one who can concentrate for hours on a project. He can sit still for long periods of time. His motor skills have improved as well as his cognitive skills. With the improvement of the motor skills and his desire to have a new bike, dad and mom broke down thier resistence and bought the new bike. But let me back up a minute..... new bike was a big reward for improved behavior at school.....3 weeks of double smiley face stamps!!!! Caleb had saved up about $10 (which is quite a lot for a 5 year old) and decided he wanted dad to take him to the bike shop to buy a new bike with his money!!! So dad and Caleb went to the bike shop (very good friend owns the bike shop down the street from us) and Caleb picked out the bike he wanted. So, one very excited little boy brought home his new blue and green bike (green is his favorite color, just ask him!).

What fun to ride for hours and hours. Now he wants to take his bike to the Big Dam Bridge and ride there. Hopefully, his motor skills will continue to improve and the training wheels will come off soon.

Until next time, the doctor is out.....searching the internet for her very own bicycle

so she can ride with Caleb.......

Celebrating My Birthday with Sweet Hubby and the Razorbacks!!!

2009-10-16T00:53:00.000-05:00

The doctor has a wonderful sweet hubby!!! How so you ask? Well, he took me to Fayetteville for a Razorback game on my birthday....now that is sweet!!! You see I grew up a Razorback....my grandmother is a Razorback; my momma is a Razorback; my momma's sisters are razorbacks; my siblings are Razorbacks; and therefore I am a Razorback - win or lose - Go Hogs Go!!!

But it wasn't just going to the Razorback game....it was the sheer joy of getting away with my sweet hubby sans sweet Caleb. Yep, just the two of us for two whole days....that in itself is almost a miracle since sweet hubby doesn't usually take time off for himself and rarely gets away from the homefront. But for me on my birthday he did just that.

We drove to Hogville on Friday afternoon (in the rain- lots of rain). Then we checked into our wonderful Marriot room, changed clothes and headed to downtown Hogville where all the action is on the night before a home game...crowded streets, full restaurants, lots of red, lots of Razorbacks...ahhhh, heaven, yes, yes, heaven for a Hog fan!!! We wanted to go eat at Doe's Steaks but we knew we were only dreaming...cause there was a two hour wait at Doe's on a Friday night, before home game, at 8:00 pm....we were hungry and didn't really want to wait two hours so we settled for the next best thing...Jose's Mexican -- down the street from Doe's Place. Yes, it was crowded but we were able to get a table pretty fast, and then ran into friends from home who were there for the fun as well.

Here is the evidence --- yeah, I was really there - in the nosebleed section- but hey,when you buy last minute tickets you take what you can get!! What a game it was!!!

Friday night at Jose's with my mocktail - Virgin Strawberry Diaquiri

Ok, so here I am not actually in side the stadium yet!!! I am outside on a hill looking down at the stadium for the kickoff....why outside for the kickoff, well, it had been raining a lot and I left my sunglasses in the car. As we walked to the stadium the sun came out.....and.......sweet hubby walked back up the hill to fetch my sunglasses out of the car.....did I mentioned we parked 20 miles away from the stadium (well, not really but it sure seemed like it when I walked back to the car!!) anyway.....did I mention that I have a wonderful sweet hubby?????? He is. He really is. Who else would walk back up the hill to get sunglasses and miss the kickoff!!!!!

Very intense when Auburn decided to show up in the last quarter of the game to score 21 points - bam, bam, bam!!!! Hey, my Razorbacks rallied back to beat Auburn 43 - 21!!! Woohoo Go Hogs!!

My sweet hubby.

Half time -- Band formation - Go Hogs

Celebrating a Razorback victory!!!!

After the game we made our way back to the car (20 miles up hill!!) and then headed south towards home.

On the way home sweet hubby offered to take me out for that steak that we missed the previous night, but no, no, no.....for me....I wanted to stop in Russellville and get STOBY's!!!! One of my all time favorites!!!

Where one must have the famous cheese dip (I mean hey, Kris Allen made a beeline to Stoby's in Conway for that cheese dip as soon as he hit Arkansas --- what can I say...ummm good!!

I love having the sliced chicken breast in a pita.......ahhh, sooo good.

I think this was actually one of the best birthday celebrations ever.....

thank you sweet hubby -- you are the best!!!!

For now the doctor is out.....listening to her sweet Caleb calling the hogs!!!!

Girls Gone Wild (Um, I mean Girls Night Out) - Pottery Fun

2009-10-15T23:31:00.002-05:00

The doctor went to her first pottery GNO a couple of weeks ago and really loved it!!! When I got there I was not sure of what I wanted to work on so I looked through every thing as well as some books with ideas. It was really hard to decide since it was the first part of October and people are thinking Halloween stuff but I don't usually have trick or treaters so the Halloween bowl was kind of out for me. So I finally settled on just an average bowl that I could paint in some sort of creative way that I might place on my dining room table depending on the outcome.

Now, you need to understand that pottery night only includes picking out a piece that has already been created and you finish it by painting it then having it fired. So my creativity is actually limited to the painting to make it look decent......

Whatever the outcome of the piece.....it was an absolute fun evening of sharing ideas, laughing with friends and just relaxing!!!

The Doctor working on her piece of art!

I painted the inside a yellow and the outside a red

(hence the colors of my dining room)

To jazz it up I had the nice instructor hand draw the squirls on the inside and outside.

And then I painted them with the opposite color.

This is what the piece looks like before it is fired.

Outside of bowl will be the red with yellow squirls.

TA DA!!!! The finished product!!!

I think it turned out rather nicely..

Can't wait to put something fun in it ... you know like candy!!!

I am really looking forward to my next pottery night!!!

Between pottery, sewing, quilting, scrapbooking....

I will be consistently and constantly broke from now on!!!

For now the doctor is out.....planning her next creative adventure!!!

Hurdles and Progress

2009-09-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

Five and a half years ago sweet hubby and I brought this little bundle of joy home from the hospital to join our family.   We knew it would be a long and hard road but we were willing to take that road.   We knew that because of the birth mother's addiction to drugs that Caleb would face many obstacles in his life.

The first hurdle came that first couple of weeks....I had this wonderful little baby who was not a crier, not a complainer, and slept throughout the night....I mean how lucky can a mom get????   Well, on the first visit back to the pediatrician for his check up they realized that Caleb wasn't getting enough nourishment...he had underdeveloped muscle tone in his mouth and jaw....he couldn't suck very well....therefore he wasn't drinking enough formula and because he wasn't crying or fretting I had no idea.    So after that my instructions were to awake him every 3 hours and feed him whether he asked for it or not...this would help develop the muscle tone for feeding.   Wow!!! What a wake up call for me.   Hurdle jumped and progress made....he learned to suck and became a very chubby little guy.

Next hurdle came in the form of underdeveloped lungs.... he had respiratory problems.   By the time he was two months old we had been to the pediatrician several times due to a heavy rasping sorta rattling chest thing....and it wouldn't clear up.   So we were given this little machine to help clear the lungs.   We had to do this about every 3 to 4 hours -around the clock. We did this for him until he was about 2 years old and had stronger lungs.

Caleb getting a treatment with mom and dad holding the tubes for him.

As he got older we taught him to hold it for himself - he hated this treatment and didn't want to do it so we ended up making it a game for him so that we could get him through it.

Eventually hurdle jumped....progress made.

Another hurdle was his eyes. He had one eye that turned outward away. Again, this was due to weak muslce tone. He wore the patch for about 6 months. The patch did not correct the problem and he needed an MRI to see the problem with the eye and to determine how much damage was done to his brain from the birth mother's drug addiction. Double Hurdle.....couldn't do the MRI because he would have to have anesthesia .... given anesthesia would compromise the already compromised lungs. So we were told we must wait until his lungs were stronger.....finally a year and a half later we could get the MRI to determine the best route to correcting the eye problem. He would have to have surgery on the eye to repair the muscles. He was almost two when they decided it would be safe enough to do the surgery....

and he came through just fine.

Next hurdle.....couldn't sit up or crawl at appropriate time, again lack of muscle tone. So the pediatrician sent us to be tested for development delay. After being diagnosed with the developmental delay he was sent to a therapeutic day clinic....I wanted him to get the treatment he needed but I also wanted him to be home with me. Within a month of therapy he could sit up by himself and then he began to crawl and finally he walked at 15 months. I was so happy the day he tested out of the program and could be home with me all day.

While getting the physical therapy he was also supposed to get speech therapy but they had put it on hold so when he was allittle over 2 years old I decided he needed to be around other kids his own age and put him in a preschool parttime so he could learn to play with others. Within a month....he was talking, then putting sentences together and we could understand completely what he said. Hurdle jump. Progress made.

When he turned 4 I agonized over whether to send him to public preschool.... was he ready, would he be so behind...would he be able to catch up...would it be the right thing for him.....I agonized about this decision trying to make a decision and then on the first day of preK I decided to enroll him in public preK. Yes, he was behind. He didn't know his alphabet. He didn't know his numbers. He didn't know how to write his name. He didn't even know how to hold a pencil correctly. He didn't know how to color very well.

BUT, he could use 4-tier words!!! He was developmentally delayed in everything but language use...

So we struggled through preK. We had a WONDERFUL teacher who worked constantly with him. By the end of the year....he knew some of the alphabet, some of his letters, and he could write his name....but, he still couldn't hold the pencil correctly. He also couldn't color very well.

At the end of preK we decided to sign him up for soccer. He was the smallest person on his team. He struggled with it at first. He lacked the coordination needed to kick the ball. By the end of his season...he was running the field and kicking the ball. He wasn't the best player but he had come A LONG way from not crawling or walking. Hurdle jumped....progress made.

Caleb is the small one in the back of the pack!!

Throughout this past summer we worked hard on those letters, numbers and writing. Still no progress. Then I began to notice he had a severe lack of concentration and absolutely non-existent recall. BIG hurdle. MAJOR hurdle. How was he ever going to learn his numbers or the alphabet if he couldn't recall things. Then Kindergarten started. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to sit. He had no desire to learn. AND, he became very stubborn about taking directions from adults. Again, we visited the pediatrician after talking with the teacher (actually being called into a conference with the teacher). Luckily for teacher, we are parents who are on top of things with Caleb. We were very aware of the problems he was having and causing at school. The pediatrician prescribed meds for attention deficit disorder immediately. Actually, I had already done the research and KNEW what needed to be done. So, the teacher, the pediatrician, and myself were on the same page here.

Caleb has been on the medication for about 3 weeks now. Within a couple of days we (teacher included) noticed progress. Caleb wants to learn. He particpates in class. He knows most of his alphabet now. He knows a lot more numbers now. He PRACTICES his writing tons now. He has the desire to learn and has become a little sponge soaking up knowledge. AND, the best part....he now has recall. He recognizes letters and stories we discussed. He comes home from school with happy faces. He comes home from school and pulls out workbooks to write his letters and numbers. On Saturday he spends hours working on projects. He was sick for about three days and the entire time was spent working on workbooks and coloring. He had never done this before!!!!

Hurdle jumped....progress made.

We have gone from not knowing the alphabet, numbers, writing his name, and not coloring to this:

Using markers, scissors, and glue.

Pen ink coloring - he spent several hours on a Saturday working on this.

I bought him some drawing paper and on the cover is a space ship. He used that as his guide to draw his own spaceship..

Working on the spaceship.

We are still not where we should be. But we have come a long way in just a short time. I think we will get there eventually. We still have problems with muscle tone. We still have allergy problems that knock him down quite a bit. But I think the hurdles in front of him are small and I think he will be able to finish the race....not necessarily in first or second place....but he will cross the finish line...

Until next time, the doctor is out.....watching a little boy practice his letters and his name... and knowing that a little boy is beaming with pride because his mom laminated his art work and hung it in her office.

I am so addicted to .....

2009-09-21T13:19:00.000-05:00

They say that addiction is in the genes....I'm thinking, yeah, they are probably right. I am so addicted to so many things right now that I don't know if I am coming or going....should I go through a 12 step program to get over some of this or just let it be?

I am addicted to this:

I broke this habit last year....I was so proud of myself....then I became stressed over some things and picked it back up.

I am also addicted to all things quilting and sewing. I love spending time working on projects, I just wish I had more time to devote to it.....

A quilt for Gracie

A quilt for Hayden

A quilt for Sarah

I have also made quilts for Caleb and others

Well, you can't sew or make quilts without this

so I am also addicted to these because you have to have wonderful

fabrics to sew with:

I can spend hours and hours at Pinwheel Fabrics, Joann's or Stitching Post....just wish I had an unlimited budget to buy all that I would like too!!!

Someimes I think of myself as a "fabric junkie"

I just can't live without beautiful, fun fabrics to create with!!

And, I guess I need to confess and add this addiction too:

Reading and Book Group Night.....ahhhhh....

Unfortunately, I have over 200 books on my reading list

I wonder if I will ever get to all of them in this life time.....

And then there is anything and everything NYC:

I love the skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge!!

I love going to the theatre and meeting celebrities...it is a blast to stand at the stage door after a performance hoping you can get the autograph and/or the picture...I have to say Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly, Cheaper by the Dozen, Because I said So.) was extremely nice to talk with and very generous with her time.

You can't go wrong while shopping in NYC....gotta love Macy's and most especially Canal Street home of the knockoffs.....yes, I buy them, yes, I carry them, yes, I LOVE them!!!

I am sooooo addicted to skiing. I MUST go at least one time a year. I WISH I could go every weekend!!!! Ummm, I think I need to move out West to the mountains and snow.....

And then in the summer, I LOVE going to the beach with my family....

But in order to get to my other favorite places I have to use this to appease the addiction:

London, Spain, Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and so many more places I want to go to....that is why I am so glad I am a researcher who presents her work.....next summer Ireland and England here I come!!!

But more than anything I am addicted to this:

my boys Josh & Caleb

My sweet granddaughter - Gracie

My handsome grandson - Hayden

and their beautiful mom - Erica

and I am also addicted to this:

My beautiful daughter - Sarah with my sweet Caleb

and this:
My rock....my sweet hubby....my biggest fan..

Cecil with our sweet Caleb

So I really don't think I can live without my addictions.....they are such an important part of

my life and what makes me me.....

For now the doctor is out.......thinking maybe some addictions are really not so bad!!!!

It's all about me --- Caleb Day

2009-07-27T00:53:00.000-05:00

Summer began around the 1st of June for Caleb....however, it hasn't been much of one for him!! Dr. Mom has been busy this summer....working part-time for a major research company, teaching 2 human development classes (web-based, but hey they have to be graded!), evaluator for a small local grant, and analyzing data and writing....for paper presentations and journal publications. Dr. Mom had to prepare for a major education conference in Spain so she would work during the day and then analyze and write late into the night.....she did this during the first few weeks of June -- Caleb's summer vacation----Dr. Mom wasn't much of a mom during this time. Then Dr. Mom left sweet little Caleb so that she could go to Spain to present that paper to her peers--- Dr. Mom was gone almost two weeks while sweet little Caleb stayed home with dad in the evenings and friends during the day. Three days after Dr. Mom got home from Spain she had to leave again....major research company sent her to DC for 2 days of evaluation meetings.....sweet little Caleb was left behind once more. When Dr. Mom came home from DC, sweet little Caleb only had 2 days of summer vacation left....bad, bad, bad Dr. Mom!!! Then Dr. Mom got an email that major journal wanted her paper for publication....more work for Dr. Mom and less time for sweet little Caleb. Dr. Mom had to meet 5 deadlines within two weeks for paper presentation submissions to next year's conferences and publication deadlines (2 of those).

Dr. Mom is working like a dog instead of a dr.

Sweet little Caleb is waiting patiently, until Saturday morning that is....patience is gone.....Sweet little Caleb brings up the list of all the things we had planned to do during summer vacation --- we hadn't done them. So on Saturday, we proclaimed it Caleb Day.....and we would do what Caleb wanted to do!! Dr. Mom walked away from the papers that needed to be finished, the grading that needed to be done, and the house that needed to be cleaned and enjoyed Caleb day. First we went to see the new Ice Age Dinosaur movie....we sat in the back way up high (not so high really but you know he is only 5) and we ate nachos, popcorn, and a hotdog (between us not each of us!) and we laughed and we laughed some more.

When the movie was over we went to the rock climbing center. Sweet little Caleb has been bugging Dr. Mom for 6 months to go rock climbing...you have to be 5 and he wasn't. His is now and we went. First Dr. Mom had to learn how to be a Belay (huh??). Belay holds the ropes for the climber. Dr. Mom is officially a Belay -- with a card that says so. Sweet Caleb listened to the rules of rock climbing and then buckled on the harness and strapped to the rope.

Let the climb begin!!!

Dr. Mom(the Belay) holding the ropes for him....and he is off on his climb to the top!!!

Three steps up and he asks if he is there yet!!!

Hanging by a thread - I mean rope

Coming down from the climb -- notice the form - this is his first
down so his form isn't quite there yet, but before we left he had the
bounce from section to section down and could move right on down
the wall. He was in heaven!!!

Big smile cause I am on my way up!

He really did go further up the wall than what the pictures show,
but the nice helpful lady only took the pictures for us in the beginning.

Within 10 minutes my Belay arms were in pain....they aren't used
to such a work out!!! By 20 minutes I am wondering if I will make it
much longer. Thankfully Sweet little Caleb had only made it about 1/2 way
up the wall and his legs and arms were getting tired too. He decided he wasn't
ready to go to the top yet(since it was really kind of scary) so we were able to leave with plans to come back
VERY SOON!!!!

Then we rewarded ourselves with a Sonic drink and vanilla cone because remember
it was Caleb day and on Caleb day we do the things that Caleb wants to do
(who cares if mom is trying to lose weight!)

Later that night we went to a friends house for a birthday party. The friend had two zip lines in thier backyard and a nice play center. Sweet little Caleb was in heaven once more that day.
Friends to play with. Swings to swing on. Rope to swing on. Dirt to dig in. And a zip line.
(picture of zip line to come later -- it is on Dr. Mom's phone and she needs to upload it)

What a wonderful Caleb day!!!

For now the Dr. is out....planning more Caleb days!!

Allnighters, Super Stress, Lost Luggage, Crazy Cab Ride.......But oh so worth it all!!!

2009-07-08T06:15:00.000-05:00

In October 2009 I learned that my paper had been accepted to be presented at the International Conference on Learning to be held in Barcelona, Spain.....oh what excitement and hard work to get everything ready!! My friend and colleague, Sri, and I have been working together for the past few years on several research projects which have culminated into paper presentations at various conferences throughout the states but this was to be my first international conference and hopefully the first of many to come!! We started making plans for our trip to Spain and decided we wanted to do at least a week so that we could travel to several places in Spain. Then we finished collecting our data so that I could get it analyzed and written. Sri always works on the literature review and I work on the methods - which is the data analyzing and writing of that section.

When we arrived in Barcelona we immediately went to the university to register and find our room that we would present in. When we got to the university we discovered that there was limited air conditioning and that some room didn't have air at all!!!! We also discovered that almost everyone there was in very CASUAL dress attire.....normally our conferences are suit attire!!! I was EXTREMELY greatful for the casual attire since there was limited air conditioning.....I knew I was going to die in the heat plus a suit. So we decided that we would also go in casual attire (but not shorts like some others!).

Since Sri teaches at a university in Long Island, NY it is sometimes hard for us to finalize things on our presentations. We always end up doing things over at the last minute in our hotel room the day before. Needless to say since I am such a perfectionist I spent way too much time working on the powerpoint for the presentation. I actually stayed up til 3:30 the night before the presentation re-doing my tables in the powerpoint!!! I know - crazy me!!! But it was a great looking powerpoint when I finished!

The next morning we ran a little late getting things ready.....I didn't eat breakfast - no time (probably couldn't have eaten anyway....I get extremely nervous before going up for presentation). We hailed a cab and realized that we had forgotten to grab the address so we were going on memory.....not such a good thing. Sri told the cab driver we needed to go to Montniegra #6. The cab driver looked kind of funny at us then pulled out his map, said a couple of things and started driving in the opposite direction of the university!!! Sri sat in the back of the cab yelling "no, that way -- that way". Long story short ---- after trying to tell the driver WHERE we needed to go and getting lost with only .5 hour to spare...... we finally drove by the rode with the sign MONTALEAGRE instead of Montniegra....the cab driver started laughing and pronounced the street name correctly and drove us to the building. However, I am at a point that I want to pull my hair out in frustration while Sarah and Marnita are sitting in the back of the cab laughing at the caos!! Well we made it in time....we found our room (WITH air conditioning!) and proceeded to set up.

Smiling before the presentation and after the caotic cab ride to get there (in our casual attire -- and my new Spanish gladiator sandals!)

Getting the power point loaded for the presentation. Sarah was my personal photographer for the presentation -- actully it was the first time for Sarah to come to my conference presentations.

Sri presenting the literature on the study.

I am presenting the statistics on the study.

Discussing the statistics and major findings of the study.

Answering questions from the audience regarding the study. We had a good attendance which is kind of uncommon when presenting on the last day of the conference. We also had good questions from the audience which is always a good sign your presentation went well and the audience like your findings.

Once the presentation was over we met up with another person from NY attending and went to lunch at Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate!! Then we headed out to tour the city of Barcelona. WHEW - a lot of hard work but it paid off. Now we re-work the paper and send it in by August 1st for publication hoping it will be accepted by the journal.

Side note: I told Sarah that we would tour Barcelona after our presentation --- she asked me if we would even have time afterwards.....I tell her of course we will my presentation is only 30 minutes!!

Sarah: WE CAME ALL THE WAY TO BARCELONA FOR A 30 MINUTE PRESENTATION!!!!!!!

Me: YES, usually our presentations are only 12 minutes!!! So this is a big deal to have a whole 30 minutes.

And what a great way to do a conference presentation----- a week of traveling the country, allnighters getting ready for the presentation, stress levels excellerated, and a crazy cab ride to get there!!!

For now the doctor is out.....planning and preparing for the next international conference......Belfast, Ireland and Cambridge, UK.......ohhh, so much work to do in only 24 hours --- the deadline for proposals is July 9, 2009 at midnight!!!!! YIKES I really need to get to work now!!!

My Answer is WORLD PEACE!

2009-06-13T14:01:00.000-05:00

With news that Carrie Prejean was "fired" from her reign as Miss California (supposedly because of her personal views on gay marriage) brought a memory to mind from my own past. When I was a teen I got an invitation in the mail to be a part of the Miss Teen Arkansas pageant....boy was I flattered!!! I didn't realize at the time they sent these notices to anyone and everyone! I had never done the beauty pageant thing -- so it was all new to me and I thought what the heck maybe it will be a lot of fun.

So I gathered my sponsors for the entry fee and then came the time to check in the hotel for the pageant. Boy, were my eyes opened fast!!! I shared a room with two other girls from somewhere in southern Arkansas who brought along thier "pageant moms" can we say scary!!! I had never seen moms act that way with their kids much less moms taking abuse by a smart mouth girl who wanted desperately to be Miss Teen Arkansas. Can we say I just didn't fit in but decided to go along for the ride anyway.

First we all had to go down and work on dance numbers for the opening and closing acts, then run through the introduction --- "I'm Connie from Little Rock." Then we had pictures made in this outfit and that outfit and then another outfit, etc., etc. But the moment that really stands out to me is the interview.....remember this was my very first pageant......I didn't know the girls were coached in what to say. So I was totally honest in my answers and stated exactly what I believed, etc. In other words, I wasn't "pageantry correct."

In the interview section they move you from room to room to answer the judges' questions. One question that was asked of me was "What do you want to do with your life?" Ok, so I wasn't prepped to say, "Oh I want to solve the worlds problems and bring about world peace." No, my answer was "I want to be the kool-aid mom." I think this shocked the interviewer somewhat and I am sure it was a unique answer. So he said please elaborate on that.....and my reply, you know, I want to be a mom and have all the neighborhood kids coming to my backyard to play. I want lots of kids and being a mom is important. This certainly wasn't the answer they expected or wanted. Because the interviewer proceeded to ask me questions about why I didn't focus on a life long career instead of focusing all my energy into being the "kool-aid" mom. Needless to say in the end I was eliminated in the first round!!!! Yep, no top 10 for me.....however, one of my roomies made it to the top 10....probably due to her pageant mom coaching her on interview questions.

Sad part is due to a divorce I didn't get to be the kool-aid mom afterall....I juggled my daughter with work and school ..... maybe now that I have a second chance to be a mom again (with my 5 year son, Caleb) I will get to be a kool-aid mom for his friends......and then again, maybe kool-aid mom is a little overrated....

For now the doctor is out........contemplating her part in solving the worlds problems to bring about world peace...hmmmmm

A mother's love

2009-06-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I had a conversation with my cousin that touched my heart and I decided I needed to blog about it.

My cousin, Cheryl, has been a single mom for a very long time. She has two wonderful kids who are grown now. A few years back Cheryl took her son, Michael, to the doctor because he wasn't feeling well. After a tremendous number of medical tests Micheal was diagnosed with colon cancer....he was 23 years old. So off to the cancer specialists they went to find out what their options were. As Cheryl talked with a surgeon about Michael's options, the surgeon suggested they do nothing for Michael....yes, you read it correct, NOTHING. WHY you might ask???? Michael was born with Fragile X syndrome. Babies with Fragile X tend to have many disabilities and health problems. This doctor firmly believed that with Micheal's Fragile X he would not be able to tolerate any chemo therapy, etc. By tolerate, he meant that Michael wouldn't understand what was going on and therefore would just be aggitated through the process. Cheryl refused to let Michael die without a fight. She requested another opinion and another doctor. Michael eventually had his surgery and many months of chemo. Each time Michael was scheduled for chemo Cheryl would take him to UAMS for admittance the night before. They would help him through the process. He might spend a week there or just a few days. He did get sick many times and had to return to the hospital for treatment. Eventually the chemo treatment ended and the wait began to determine if the treatment worked for Michael.

Cheryl and I have cancer in common. My daughter had cancer too so we tend to revert our conversations back to the cancer topic. We tend to compare notes on how things went for both Sarah and Michael (who are the same age). Sarah just had one of her 3 month check ups and she is fine right now. She will have 3 to 4 month check ups for probably another year and then we hope they will go to the 6 month check ups.

Cheryl shared with me that Michael has been cancer free 4 years now. He is on his 6 month check ups and at five years will move to his 1 year check up. As she shared with me Michael's progress (no cancer and lots of weight gain towards being a healthy person again) I could see the happiness in her eyes that he was surviving this ordeal. I could also see the determination of a mom who loves her son with everything she has and wasn't willing to let a doctor pronounce his death sentence just because he had a disability. I suggested she march Micheal up to the doctor's door on his 5 year checkup so this doctor could see a healthy young man and a very blessed mom who didn't give up on her son.

For now the doctor is out.......and extremely greatful she has such a wonderful extended family!

Pre K Graduation

2009-05-27T12:17:00.000-05:00

What a year for Caleb!!!! Last summer I fretted and fretted about what I would do as far as preK for Caleb. He has suffered from some developmental delays and I just wasn't sure if he was actually ready to go to preK. I went from should I just keep him at home and work with him or should I put him in a private preK or should I put him in the school district's preK.....what am I going to do???? I just couldn't make a decision that felt right for him or me!!! I finally made a decision the very day that school started......I mean I actually went to the district office on the first day of school to enroll him in a preK program......I had waited to late to get him into the preK program that I wanted him to go to so he was assigned to our neighborhood school preK.....we don't live in the best neighborhood .......and I am an educational researcher.......I have researched the schools in this district......I know which ones are performing and which are NOT and why they are not. This school wasn't. However, this was the schools first year to offer the preK program and because it is an underperforming school they were given tons of $ for their program........EVERYTHING was included........all the supplies, the napping mats, everything. AND, Caleb was assigned to the best preK teacher (in my humble opinion) ever!!!!!! She was wonderful for Caleb. She put up with my constant fears for him......you know, he isn't writing yet, he doesn't know his alphabet, he doesn't count very well, he this, he that!!! She promised me she would take care of my baby and teach him to do those things so that he would be ready for kindergarten. She kept her word. My baby tested in the bottom of the class those first few months of preK but by the end of the year......he was testing in the top tier of his class. Whew, thank you Ms. Chaffin for working with my baby!!!!

We still have some work to do on the handwriting but we are getting there.

So yesterday sweet hubby and I attended Caleb's preK gradutation at the not so good school that we have come to love. Sweet hubby dropped Caleb off at school and came home to pick me up for the graduation later......sweet hubby announces as he came in the door...."They are wearing Sunday best!!!!" I am horrified!!!! I sent my baby to school in his uniform!!!! I am so on top of things!!!

Luckily he wasn't the only child in uniform.....there are a few other moms out there who are on top of things too!!!! The preK students sang two songs (ok, so the cd sang the songs and the students tried to sing along with it ---- I mean really, what preK student actually knows the words to "Worlds Greatest" by R. Kelley????? I mean give me a break!!! Ooops, actually a few of them did know the words.....

He may not have known the words but he knew the hand motions and he even paid attention....well most of the time anyway!

Yes, the teachers were on the side giving cues to thier adorable preK students!

You can tell these students just want this to be over so they can have cookies and milk!

Notice the cute little boy in shirt and tie (picking his nose).....that is Caleb's buddy.....or you might say partner in crime!!! When Caleb got in trouble ......it usually was b/c he and cute buddy were doing things they shouldn't.....like cutting their own hair when they should be cutting paper!!! Both boys ended up with "buzz" cuts since they apparently flunked barber school.

Well, the first year is almost over. I didn't sit back this year worrying about what I would do in regards to Kindergarten......no, I learned my lesson on that......if you want your child in a certain school you get busy early on with those plans......and yes, we will be going to a new school for Kindergarten.....E-stem which is a charter school downtown......I am so excited for this new adventure that Caleb will embark on in July (yeah, school starts in July!). I am hoping I won't be the new teacher's nightmare mom......but who am I kidding....I will be!!!

For now the doctor is out.......wondering when did my baby grow up into a little boy ready for school???

Let's try something different

2009-05-27T11:26:00.000-05:00

I volunteered to make a cake for a friend's bridal shower.....I have made cakes before......I have decorated cakes before.......I made my own wedding cake and decorated it (three tiers!) But a few of my facebook friends had been using fondant to decorate their cakes and so I decided I wanted to try to do this type of cake decorating as well. I mean, how hard could it be.....you bake the cake, you ice the cake, you make the fondant and roll it out, cover the cake and vavooom you are done with a georgeouse cake...right??? NOT!!!

First thing I learned was that I should have started the project 3 days before the event instead of the night before the event!!! I always make my cakes (from scratch of course!) the night before I want to decorate them. After they have cooled I use a powdered suger glaze to cover the cake -- this seals in the moisture for a great tasting cake. It is messy but does the trick!!

I don't have a lot of counter space so when I do stuff like this it automatically moves to the dining room where I use my large table as a counter!!!

The next morning I make my butter cream frosting to frost the cake with. This is an absolute must even if you are using fondant! Fondant does not taste like frosting.....it just looks good!! So you don't want to serve a guest your beautiful cake with fondant only on it b/c your guest will most likely scrape the fondant off and eat just cake.....dry with no frosting!!!

Since I am using fondant I decide that I don't have to be perfect with the frosting.....just basically slap it on there and go!!!!

My table is still in relatively good condition at this point!!! But just wait, I still have to make that fondant!!!! I read the directions that I pulled from the internet ( great place to find answers to every question I might add!). Ummm, I should have read directions the night before.....oh well, it is too late now....keep moving!!!!

Kitchen after making the butter cream icing......things are looking bad at this point.....I have no room here to "knead" the fondant so again I have to move to the dining room table!!! The fondant is marshmellows - melted in the microwave with a 2lb bag of powdered sugar poured on top then DUMPED on the kneading surface...... I am so glad sweet hubby wasn't home during this process....he hates anything to be put on this table..........

The fondant after kneading for about 8 minutes!!!! What a workout for the arms!!!! What a MESS!!!!!! There is powdered sugar EVERYWHERE!!!!!! Will it come up off the table???? Will I ever have a normal floor again where it flittered down off the table??????? What was I thinking??????

Well, after several roll outs with several tears in the fondant.........I finally got a piece big enough to fit the top tier (6" round) and then made the little stripes!!!! WOW ----- I am on a roll.......uhhhh, I don't have any more fondant that I can use.....so I clean off the table and start another batch of fondant.........more marshmellows and powdered sugar, more kneading, more powdered sugar on the table and onto the floors........things aren't looking so good at this point.....not sure if I can get this cake actually finished before the shower......trying to think if there is a bakery close by that maybe I can just run to and pick up a cake........NO, dang it I can do this, I really can........I hope I can, OH MY GOSH....WHY DIDN'T I JUST ORDER A STUPID CAKE!!!!!!!

This is what kept me going.......sweet sonic.........sweet diet coke........(oh yea, I only lasted one month when I gave up my diet coke).......you can see the picture of what I was going for -- beautiful cake with ribbon bow on top......I mean it can't be that hard can it??????

This is what I ended up with after another hour of trying to make a bow out of fondant......where are my cookie cutters?????? I just found a large heart to cover up the top!!! Who needs a bow anyway....they are so overrated!!!! I mean a heart means love.......sweet eternal love.......

The final product finished with at least 2 hours to spare!!!!!! A little lopsided, a few flaws, but dang it .......I DID IT!!!!!! Now I just hope the darn thing taste good!!!!

After finishing the cake that I was so proud of I starting thinking.....how am I going to transport this monstracity?????? Sweet hubby to the rescue......he delivered me and cake safely to the shower. The shower itself was wonderful........sweet friend had an array of gifts to open, shower attenders had tons of yummy food to eat and lots of conversation, stories, and laughter and opportunities to get to know people better!!! Bride to be tried on her dress to show it to us......ahhhhh beautiful bride to be! And the cake tasted good after all the worry!!!!

The doctor has a greater understanding of why people pay big bucks to have cakes made for them......they want to keep their kitchens clean and their table free of powdered sugar and marshmellows!!!!! It only took about 30 minutes to scrub powdered sugar off the table and floor....not so bad!!! EWWWWWW, there is still a sticky film on the table.......scrub again......now said table is resting under a coat of orange oil to get it's gloss back........

Until next time the doctor is out..........going back for a slice of fondant covered cake......yummmy!

What I learned in seminary this year.....

2009-05-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

In August 2008, I was asked to teach a seminary class at church. Seminary is taught at 6 am every morning to a group of 14 to18 year old students. My first reaction.... I am NOT a morning person!!! I LOVE to stay up late working - sometimes until 2 am and then sleep late or late according to me!!! But this year I would have to give up that habit since I would have a little boy attending pre-k and he needed to be at school before 8 am so I said yes I will teach seminary. I actually attended seminary for 4 years when I was a youth - even though I graduated from seminary I always felt that I slept through most of it....so this would be a good opportunity to re-visit the scriptures ---- AWAKE!!!

Well the year has ended and I survived and so did my students!!! One of the assignments given to my students at the end of the year was to write a 500 page paper on "What I Learnd in Seminary This Year." They were to do this in order to "letter" which is basically to recieve a special award for their work.....in addition to the paper, they must also memorize 25 scriptures, attend 90%, read the New Testament, and pass a final exam.

So I decided I would write my paper (not 500 words!) on what I learned in Seminary this year.

First, I learned that yes I can get up everyday at 5 am to get ready for the day and then go teach teenagers about the scriptures!!! I also learned that 5 am is VERY EARLY and it is still dark outside!!! I also learned that I can go to bed at 11 pm or 12 am and still get up at 5 am!!!

I learned that preparing a lesson for teenagers is EXTREMELY HARD since they already know a lot!!! I also learned that these teens were not as awake at 6am as I thought they should be but we worked through that!!!

I learned that these teens are extremely knowledgeable about the New Testament and scriptures in general.....they taught me a lot!!!

I learned that it is easy to LOVE these teenagers and that they are so fun to be around early in the morning (or anytime). I learned to care about their well-being, about who their friends are, how they are doing in school, and what they like or dislike.

I learned that these teens love thier phones and ipods but they know how to put them away when it is time for class.

I learned that these teens have a great love for the gospel, for the scriptures and for the Savior. I learned that these teens are great examples to adults in how to live the gospel, in their actions, words, and in their deeds.

I learned that there are many ways to teach teens so they can learn -- you can bring do-nuts and bribe them!!! I also learned that I want to be more prepared next year than I was this year. I want to put in 150% instead of 100%.

I also learned to love the scriptures more than I ever have in the past. I learned a lot more about the life of Christ and his Apostles. I learned that I want to walk in His footsteps and strive to become more like Him.

I learned to LOVE seminary and everything it stands for.

For now, the doctor is out....preparing her lessons, games, and activities for next Fall....see you then bright and early!!!!

2009-04-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

In February, my sister, my aunt, Sarah, and I went to Vermont for skiing. I LOVE to ski!!! I am not the fastest person on the slopes nor am I the best skiier on the slopes, but I LOVE to be on the slopes!!! Usually my Aunt Nita and I go to Colorado for skiing but a few years ago we decided we needed to try out some new places. So one year I took her to Utah for skiing which she absolutely loved. Then one year we decided to go to Lake Tahoe - which I absolutely loved. But this year we thought we would try the east coast for skiing. Since Sarah lives in NYC we decided to fly there and rent a car to drive on up to Vermont. My sister, Mimi, decided to go so she could have some down time. She and Sarah ended up shopping, sewing, and just relaxing while Aunt Nita and I hit the slopes from sun- up to sun-down!!!

The drive from the city to Vermont was a lot of fun. We enjoyed seeing the small eastern towns on the way up. We ended up getting to the hotel around 7:30 - 8:00 that night. When we went in to check in they didn't have rooms since they were doing some remodeling and decided to upgrade us --- I thought, oh, we will just get a suite - how fun!! Oh, no.....they upgraded us to a 2 bedroom condo -- full size living room, a dining room, full kitchen, and two separate bedrooms and enough room that the four of us could spread out without stepping on each other!!! It was heaven!!! We very much enjoyed our quarters especially since we could walk out our front door onto the patio then cross the street and we were in the middle of the village!!! Just a few feet away from the slopes calling our name!

Now, when my aunt and I go to the slopes - we go for the entire day!!! So that means you pack your jacket up with your bottled water, extra kleenex, snacks, and anything else you might need for the day. The jacket has a bunch of little pockes for everything.....so I stuff my goggles, camera, extra hat, neckband, etc into my pockets before I go out the door so my coat makes me look twice as big!!!! Not so good. But here I am in the condo right before we are going out to hit the slopes!

Vermont skiing is very different from Utah skiing.....Vermont snow is more "humid" or wet whereas the snow in Colorado or Utah is very dry. So there is a ton of difference in how it feels for the skis. Another thing about Vermont is that they still have the original "small" trails through the trees whereas when we are in Co or Ut the ski trails are extremely wide and open. I loved the small trails in Vermont. It was just so beautiful there!!

The trees were packed with snow.

On one of our trails we would ski down and under this covered bridge!!! So much fun!!

Several of the trails were right beside the housing area for the mountain. I loved the patio furniture for this house!!! I want sweet hubby to build me some furniture made out of old skis!!!

I think the Vermont ski trip was extremely wonderful!!! It was hard to leave and go home!! When we got to the airport we ended up getting bumped from our flight --- but that wasn't so bad -- they upgraded us to first class on our next flight and gave us a free flight coupon to use sometime during this year....wonder where I can go??????

For now the doctor is out......thinking upgrades are quite fun!!!!

My New Best Friend.....Gertie!!!

2009-01-04T14:16:00.000-06:00

I have a new best friend!!! Now, my sweet friends, don't be alarmed....I still love you all too. But I have to introduce you to Gertie, my newest best friend!!! Gertie is very special....she is very helpful.....she can go with me everywhere!!!! She helps me find places like NYC.....or she can help me find things....like Sonic!!!! She also doesn't mind if I am on facebook or checking my email......she even helps with those things too!!! She is really a great friend!!!

This is Gertie!!!

Sweet hubby gave Gertie to me for Christmas!!! Usually sweet hubby will go buy me some diamonds or upgrade my diamonds (earrings/necklace) to a bigger diamond. But, this year I told sweet hubby I would really like a new phone...he was kind of baffled about it since I have always just gone down and picked out a phone at the phone store. But I explained to him that I didn't want just a plain ole phone.....I really wanted a Blackberry or a Blackjack this time......you know the ones where you have to pay a more $ to get it. So sweet hubby took me to the phone store and handed me over to the sales person then sweet hubby took Caleb to the pet store and the toy store while I talked phones. I told phone person what I was interested in and he started showing me the Blackberry and Blackjack then said would you like to see the iphone????? I told him that I didn't think sweet hubby would go for one that cost that much $$$. Well, it wasn't as much as I thought so sweet hubby said yes......(you have to understand that sweet hubby is a wonderful person, but sweet hubby doesn't like spending money). So I got my new iphone and a nasty rubbery pink cover!!!! They didn't have much to chose from. However, while shopping on Canal street I found a great RED hard plastic cover that so works much better.

I named my iphone Gertie.....because she is such wonderful tool that she deserved to be humanized with a name. Gertie helped me navigate to NYC to see Sarah. She also helped navigate on our road trip up the Hudson so I could go to Sleepy Hollow to see the headless horseman. Gertie also helped me stay connected to facebook while I was on the highway (I am SOOO addicted to Facebook!). Gertie also helped me check my email on the road as well. If I had had time to download music to Gertie, I could have listened to music on the road with her. Gertie also helped me find a SONIC!!!!! I have to have Sonic diet coke!!!! Of course I had to wait until I got to Virginia to find that darn Sonic!!!!

I think Gertie is a keeper!!!! She will be one of those life long friends (well, until someone greater, better, or faster comes along - sometimes I really am kind of fickle.)

For now the doctor is out.....loving her new friend Gertie and hoping her other friends understand that the new wears off eventually and then I can hang out with you guys again.....

Non-Traditional Christmas in New York City

2008-12-29T11:07:00.000-06:00

For the past 4 years I along with my family have been struggling with Christmas. Four years ago at Christmas I was saying goodbye to my ex-sister-in-law who was also one of my best friends....she was dying from colon cancer. She passed in Feb. 2005. Then in April 2005 our family said goodbye to sweet hubby's mom and my uncle who passed on the same day. Two weeks later my beloved younger sister Robin passed away suddenly. Then in July our family lost a cousin. When September came around I lost my wonderful daddy. Then 3 weeks later my daddy's brother passed away. We left Arkansas for Christmas that year. We just couldn't bear to go through the Christmas traditions that we had developed with daddy and Robin not here to share with us. We went to Kansas where Sarah was living at the time. The day after Christmas we left Kansas to drive to Mississippi b/c Sarah's grandfather passed away. The following year we had a very somber Christmas awaiting Sarah's surgery for ovarian cancer. Since that year we have struggled through Christmas...trying to make things work.....overbuying for the kids....but it didn't replace the empty places at the table or everything else that was Christmas with the Family.

This year was no exception.....still not able to face Christmas with missing family members, my sister and I packed up our own kids and loaded Sherman the Tank and headed for NYC to spend the holiday with Sarah in her tiny apartment. My sister and I chose not to over buy on the gifts this year.....her kids got one big gift - the guitar hero and a couple little things. Caleb got one big gift and a couple of small gifts. Christmas morning was wonderful. The kids opened their small gifts and went off to enjoy. There was no mentioning of "he got that, why didn't I get one" or "is this all???" or " this isn't what I wanted.....I wanted such and such", it was just quiet fun. We played guitar hero and watched movies. Later in the day some of Sarah's friends (who used to live in Kansas and attend K-state but now live up here) came over and we laughed and laughed and had the absolute best time. Our Christmas dinner was 3 hours late...but it didn't matter to us.....

Sweet hubby didn't travel with us.....he wanted to go deer hunting......he too is battling the Christmas blues since both his parents are gone now and his brother passed two years ago. He doesn't have family left to share Christmas with (except us of course) so he spent Christmas with some friends in Arkansas before leaving out to hunt bambi. We missed sweet hubby but we totally understood his choices and he understood ours.

I think, or maybe I hope I am at the turning point now. Maybe I am not ready to give up on the traditional Christmas with family, gifts, etc. Maybe next year I will start sending out Christmas cards again (I actually stopped 3 years ago). Maybe I will plan out a Christmas party for my family again. Maybe I will play Santa again. Maybe I will stay home and have a traditional Christmas day with my family........maybe......we will see when next year rolls around.....maybe.....

For now the doctor is out.....hoping and praying this will be my last non-traditional Christmas....maybe....

Mapigating the USA

2008-12-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

NOTE: This is a combined blog from The Doctor's Report and Confessions of a Mimi - since we are traveling together, we are sharing our blogs.

Well, it’s that time of year again when Dr. Mom and Mimi gather their meager possessions, load up Sherman the Tank and mapigate the USA. This year we are headed to the Big Apple to visit Sarah. If the beginning of the trip is any indication of what’s to come we are in big trouble.
We were set to leave on Friday afternoon…However, Sweet Hubby could not tune up the Tank until late that day. We decided to leave out early on Saturday morning. After ten years of devoted service the Tank threw us a curve. His hinder parts (rear brakes) were cracked and hurting. It took some tender loving care and new shoes to make Tank all better. We hit the road at 12 noon. We made a quick stop at our friend’s home to open some presents for Mimi’s brood and Franklin. We grabbed some lunch very quickly and set off. We encountered our first slow down outside of Lonoke. A semi trailer caught fire and traffic was at a standstill. We finally made it through that mess and enjoyed the wide open freeways. All was well with our little excursion until we hit Jackson, TN. Then we encountered something that has never happened before in 20 years of traveling together. The Tank had a blowout! We quickly pulled over and found that only a rim remained. What to do? We were packed to the gills, weren’t sure that we even had a good spare since we have never used it, and the wind was biting cold. A good Samaritan (he looked like our cousin Mike 20 years ago) stopped to give us a hand. He had to suffer through the cold, find a jack big enough to lift Sherman the Tank, and we had to unpack the back to get to our spare. The spare was in good shape, just needed a little air.

The blown out tire --- separated from the wheel all the way around!!

The Good Samaritans!!!!

Chicken Little trying to keep Franklin warm!!

The unloaded loot (for Sarah) so that we could get to the spare tire.

The loaded car....without the extra loot!

Ok, we have to get a BIGGER jack....this thing is too heavy!!!

Once all was packed back in we drove to a WalMart Tire Center just down the road and decided to buy 2 new tires for the back wheels. (Sweet Hubby had already put new tires on the front and saw that the back tires were fairly new so he did not change them) We were able to get to the tire center about 30 minutes before it closed for the evening! We decided to eat some dinner and because it was getting late, we found a hotel and stayed in Jackson for the night.
Dr. Mom and Mimi are quite impressed with the kind citizens of Jackson. We encountered good will throughout this city. Everyone was so helpful and kind to us. It now goes on one of our favorite places to be stranded in. Hopefully this list will remain small.

So…we are back on the road again suffering through all the little spats from the kids and the hundred million “are we there yet?” questions. Let’s hope we can continue the trip without any further happenings of the bad kind and stil keep our sanity.

For now the Doctor is out contemplating the fact that there are still good Samaritans in this world. Mimi is confessing that driving can still be more pleasant than flying, right???

Christmas Decorating With a 4 Year Old!!!

2008-12-02T20:46:00.000-06:00

We have always had the tradition of putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving but this year Caleb was sick on Thanksgiving and on Friday so I thought well we can put it up on Saturday but he was still sick and still sick on Sunday....what is going on here??? On Monday he was diagnosed with MONO - ok, so no wonder he was not feeling well and running a strong temp!!! But on Tuesday he seemed to be much better and I was at home with him all day since my sister, Mimi, couldn't watch him for me so that I could go into the office (it is nice to have such a wonderful new job with flexibility of being able to work at home!). So what to do with a 4-yr old who is feeling better but confined to the house until he isn't contagious anymore?????? I know let's go ahead and put the tree up!!!

Putting the tree up in our house is a big deal for me!!! I am a Christmas tree snob of the worst kind! I am a perfectionist with the tree. My family used to find tons of things to do on Christmas tree day just so they didn't have to be around me while I griped about this and that trying to get my tree to perfection. Perfection included me stringing around 1000 to 12o0 lights (white lights only) on that tree. This would take me about 8 hours to do. Then I would begin putting on the decorations placing them with symmetry!!! STOP LAUGHING!!! I know that I have a Christmas Tree problem and I have since gotten help for it!! I am still anal about it but I have learned to let go of a few things. I used to work for Dillards Dept Stores in the Visual Section and learned the art of Christmas tree lights/decoration during that time - so I guess that sort of contributed to my quirks about Christmas trees.

Another quirk I have about my tree is that it needs to have a theme. When I was a single mom with Sarah we always made our decorations for the tree -- but they also had a theme - I know crazy huh? Well, there came a time when I could afford to buy the theme that I always wanted: A Mauve Victorian Christmas theme. I would hit the after Christmas sales to collect every ornament that I wanted to adorn that tree and now I have this wonderful collection of Victorian ornaments but after 10 years of the same theme I decided it was time for a change so I started buying the Santa theme ornaments and that has been my them for the past few years.

So today Caleb and I began the arduous task of putting up the tree. I don't do lights anymore....I bought a pre-lit tree which saves my sanity now. However, I am still quite anal about the ornaments and what goes on the tree. I have learned some patience since I do have a 4 yr old who wants to do "everything" and that included putting the tree together.

Notice the pj's---- he has decided that since he can't go anywhere there is no need to get dressed!!

Like I said, he wanted to be a part of every detail including straightening out the branches, however, I was afraid he was going to topple off the table into the tree, but he didn't.

I finally talked him out of helping with the top section but then he got a hold of the camera and took a fairly decent picture!!

Once we began putting the ornaments on he placed his precisely where he wanted them -- all together in the same area.

You know I am going to move them when he isn't looking......

Eventually he got bored with the tree and began working with the cardboard ornament holders --- yes, I can get those ornaments where they MUST be in order to have that almost perfect tree --- hey, I am still working on this problem!

The finished product with a few flaws....oh well.

Once we got the tree decorated we started on the other decorations. I have collected International Santas for the past 15 years so we unwrap them and put them on the piano.

Caleb wanted to open them and place them on the piano....you know when he isn't looking I am going to change it....yea, I do.

Yes, Caleb took this picture of his own handy work - lined up all together on the key cover of the piano!!!

Then we hung our stalkings on the mantle and added our nutcrackers. Also, on the mantle this year I added my temple ornaments. These ornaments are very special to me since they were given to me by my sister-in-law who passed away almost 4 years ago. I am so glad that I can set them out and remember her at this time of the year.

We ended our decorating with the nativity scene. This was a very special time for Caleb and I since we stopped everything and talked about each piece and why it is so important. It was at this moment that I was able to let go of everything else and reflect on the TRUE meaning of Christmas - it's not that perfect tree, or the collection of Santas, or the presents under the tree, no it is so much more than that.....the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the significance of all that He has done for us. I hope that Caleb grasps this meaning rather than all of the other "silly" things that come along with Christmas.

He still wanted to group them all together --- yes, I did move them.....shame on me!

For now the doctor is out......searching for that Christmas tree fanatics annonymous meeting in order to overcome that silly obsession of perfect Christmas tree decorating.

I Didn't Blog About It

2008-12-02T19:09:00.000-06:00

As I have looked back over my pictures from the past couple of months I have realized that I missed many opportunities to blog.

Here is my sad list:

I didn't blog about the fair

I didn't blog about Grandmother's 90th birthday party where she danced with her brother one more time!!!

And posed with her family to create a 4 generation picture (not the best picture).

I didn't blog about Halloween and I didn't take pictures of Halloween either (not a good Halloween person!)

I didn't blog about Hayden's birthday party

or sweet Gracie riding the rides at Chuckie Cheese....

I didn't blog about Thanksgiving (didn't take pictures either!)

I didn't blog about cooking this wonderful recipe that I got from my friend Llewellyn!! I was so proud of myself for actually making something (that at the time I hoped was going to turn out great) I made pictures of it as I put it together....ummmm yummy!!!

But now I am back on track and ready to get caught up on blogging (or at least not get behind again!).

For now the doctor is out.....planning the next blog!

Let us all learn TOLERANCE!

2008-11-05T07:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a historical event in the history of our country. Some people are celebrating today and some are crying tears of sadness, crying foul, or spitting hatred. Today we have a new president-elect. Today we need to come together as a country, a nation, a people and celebrate the fact that we DO have a choice and we CAN vote according to our choice, BUT, when it is said and done we need to have respect for the one who was elected even if that person was not the one of our choice. I think the following poem says it all:

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance....in bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood, or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back.
For of the faces round the fire, he noticed one was black.
The next man lookin cross the way, saw one not of his church,
And couldn't bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.
The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hand was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without; they died from the cold within.

Author unknown.

Let us learn tolerance and exceptance of others who are not like us. Let us respect the man who will be our new President (even if he wasn't our choice). DON'T let our nation die from the cold within....TOLERANCE will be the key!!!

For now the doctor is out.....hoping someone out there is practicing tolerance towards me because I am different from them and praying others will practice tolerance for our new leader.

Happy Birthday Grandmother!!!

2008-10-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

Ella Florine Cook Wallace

Today is my grandmothers birthday. She is 90 years young today. My grandmother has always been a fascinating person to me. She gave birth to 8 children, 1 boy, 7 girls. Her only son passed away at 6 months from complications to an illness. She has also suffered the loss of her husband and 3 grandchildren (including my sweet sister).

This is my grandmother holding me as a baby.

I find that I can relate to my grandmother's life - especially at this point in my own life -- like my grandmother, I too have a wide age range for my children -- I have two adult children and one preK child. My grandmother has 5 grandchildren who are older than her youngest child. She didn't have time to be the "conventional" grandmother since she was still raising her own children at the same time her grandchildren were coming along. BUT, that is ok. She was and still is a very FUN person!!! When I graduated from high school she asked me what I wanted as a gift.....I told her I wanted one of her famous "duck feather" pillows. She made me one and I kept it until it fell apart.

She has lived an awesome 90 years....so many changes in this country and world that she has seen or been a part of. She was left alone during WWII with 3 girls while her husband was fighting overseas. She could fish, hunt, and do whatever was necessary to take care of her family, and at the same time she was very much the "lady." She came from an era where women didn't have the right to vote; women took "care" of the house and children and their "man." Now she has granddaughters who are feminist, who are professionals, who work outside the home, who have chosen not to marry or who have chosen not to have children or they have several children; and those granddaughters are greatful to that grandmother who fought along with others so that they could have the right to vote and make choices for themselves.

I find some things very amusing with my grandmother. When I took sweet hubby to a family get together for the first time after we started dating, my grandmother told me that I needed to fix sweet hubby a plate of food and serve him......ummm, yea, that isn't happening!!! I just smiled and told grandmother that sweet hubby had two legs and two arms and he knew where the food was and if he was hungry he would take care of himself!!! Umm, yea, she was a little taken back by that but eventually she became used to her granddaughters "way out there" ideas.

This is a five generation picture that includes Great Grandmother (center seat) Grandmother (r) mom (l) and myself with Sarah (standing)

Even to this day when grandmother goes out "to town" she must be dressed appropriately including the makeup and LIPSTICK!! She is sometimes shocked that women don't "dress" appropriately for going out (and that includes applying the LIPSTICK), and by going out I mean things like Walmart or the grocery store. I hardly ever wear makeup these days and very rarely do I wear the lipstick, but I give grandmother a lot of credit, she does set the example for us even if we don't always follow it!!

My grandmother at 82 on a cruise with 5 of her 7 daughters and 4 granddaughters.

On Sunday we will be helping her to celebrate her wonderful life by attending church with her in her small town and then having a reception to honor her. I think I am very blessed to be a part of this wonderful lady's family. She is so intelligent, funny, and such a lady!!! Happy Birthday Grandmother!!!

For now the doctor is out, hoping she can live up to her legacy....and hoping she inherited those longevity genes!!!

The TRUE Meaning of Friendship

2008-10-07T12:42:00.000-05:00

I have a birthday coming up soon. Usually as my birthday comes around I sit and ponder about my life....this year I am pondering about friends. I love my friends. I have great friends. But usually we all have great friends. This past year I was reminded of a lesson I learned many years ago about friendship and I want to finally share it.

When I was a teenager I had a LOT of friends. I went to a lot of parties, and sleepovers, shopping trips to the mall, etc. I thought I was really something since I came from a lower middle class family and ALL my friends were from upper middle class and upper class families living in wonderful homes and doing wonderful things. My daddy always made sure that I could do some of the things they did...he would give me what extra money he had so that I could sort of keep up. He was a great daddy! Then one day my daddy was in a motorcycle accident.....crushed leg....hospital for a long time.... rehab for a year.....cast for two years....lost business.....no job.....mother went back to work to support a family of five kids....lots of stress.....no extra money....needed a job to buy school clothes....lots of stress.......where are my friends????

They were continuing on with thier lives, parties, sleepovers, and the mall. Depression sets in with this teenager whose life has been turned upside down. Withdrawal from the world of friends, with the exception of one girl who stayed by my side through all of it. Still had sleepovers at her house, still went to the mall with her (even though I couldn't buy anything) and still went to parties with her. I love her to this day. One mall trip was made so special by her and I will never forget it. We packed our lunch (sandwiches and chips)and put it in our purse and her mom dropped us off at the mall to go window shopping. Our plan: try on all the new fall fashions as though we were actually going to buy them!!! She didn't buy anything and of course I couldn't. We spent an entire day going from store to store trying on new, crisp, fashionable clothing knowing that we weren't buying anything that day. Then we went to the Orange Julius and bought a drink and sat in the mall eating our sack lunch and laughing. I love this girl!!!! She was (and still is) an amazing friend to me in a trying time of my life. (One thing that happened during this time was that with all of the staying at home I did my grades came up and I was asked to join the honor society - eventually making new friends in a different crowd - wonderful for me because of so many other reasons that won't be addressed here).

So I have come to understand the meaning of friendship and have been reminded of it this past year. There are all kinds of friends, wonderful people who love you, who do things with you, who are there for you. So here is my definition of friends:

Family friends - the family members (extended members included) who love you in spite of being family!!! YOu know who you are. My first best friend was my cousin Tami......we loved hard, we fought hard, we played hard, and we got into trouble together. You always found us together. I love you Tami!!!

My sisters - I love my sisters!!!! I lost my youngest sister 3 years ago. I miss her terribly! But, my other younger sister, Mimi, is the greatest!!! We grew up fighting each other like cats and dogs but eventually found that we couldn't live without each other. We do so much together, family vacations, lunches, outings, etc. ONe time someone made a comment about what such good friends we were and they thought it was so great that two friends did so much together and then were shocked when we told them that we are sisters - sisters who are friends.

My daughter - What can I say... the two of us fighting against the world!!! Just the two of us for so long!! What a wonderful daughter and friend you are. I love you dearly.

My parents - I always loved being around my parents. They are so much fun!! I miss my daddy so very much and I miss his wisdom and his love. I still am fortunate to have a mom who I can do things with and spend time with.

My husband - what can I say.....he is my BEST friend.

Then we have what we call Acquaintances. These are people who we call friends because we see them on a regular basis. They are people that we do things with on occasion. We have lunch with them, or go to a party with them, or go to church with them. We see them in the store and stop and talk to them. We know some better than others but we still consider them our friends.

We also have Long Distance Friends. THese are the people that we know and love but they had to move away or you had to move away. You still keep in contact and you still visit each other. We don't get to spend as much time with them anymore but they are still very special to us. Maybe they are True Friends as well.

Then we have TRUE FRIENDS!!! These are the people who know us.....they know our backstage personality and love us in spite of it. (Backstage personality ---you ask what is this? Well I will tell you....socialogically speaking, we have TWO types of personality - a Front stage and a Back stage personality. Your front stage personality is your best performance of YOU!!! This is the you that you want the world to see.....you know, the person you are on that first date, when you meet someone important, when you are around people you don't really know. The backstage personality is the person you are at home with your family members who can't disown you because you are certifiably crazy!!! This is the personality that shows that you are human.....you get sad, you are happy, you cry, and you have a BAD day that you take out on your family because they LOVE you no matter how awful you can be).

TRUE FRIENDS are always there for you....like my teen friend who took me to the mall and showed me that we could have a good time even though I didn't have any money. True friends come over in the middle of the night when our hearts are broken, when we lose someone we love, when we become engaged, and just because. True friends can be silly with us or cry with us. A TRUE FRIEND loves us when we are having a bad day, they tell us that our hair looks good or HORRIBLE in that color, cut, etc. True freinds don't care if you are poor or rich, fat or skinny, they love all of you all of the time.

I was reminded of this because this past year I am coming out of a "somewhat severe" depression. Depression that was caused by a lot of life changes....new kids, (new baby), extended family members passing, my sister passing, my dad passing, my daughter being diagnosed with cancer and surving it!! Opening a business then losing a business. Finishing a degree that took me longer to get because of some of the changes happening. Through all of this my TRUE FRIENDS have been there with me. When I started to withdrawal from the world they called me and dragged me out even though I was lousy company. When I just wanted to sit and cry - they were there right beside me (sometimes physically and alot of the time spiritually). My true friends kept me updated on the world that I was missing, on the people in it, on the life that was going on around me that I didn't want to be a part of. Thank you true friends.

I feel that I am so blessed because I have so many good friends. I love my family friends - they are so wonderful and fun; I love my acquaintance friends whom I am getting to know better these days since I have ventured back into the real world and who may become one of my true friends as well, you guys are wonderful and I so enjoy your lives and being a part of them; I love my long - distance friends - the ones I get to play with when I travel to their new city and are able to keep in touch with better because of the internet email and of course the lifesaver FACEBOOK; AND I admire and revere those gals who are there with me at my worst - who worry about my mental state and whether or not I am going back to the "bad" place and what they need to do to pull away from it. YOU ARE BEST!!!! I am so thankful for you - my True Friends.

For now, the doctor is out.....hoping that everyone has a TRUE FRIEND somewhere out there.

PS. Family, I know that I am behind on The Franklin Diaries but I will catch up sometime this week.....please be patient with this crazy doctor!!!

The Franklin Diaries - Part Four

2008-09-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday Sarah had to work late so Franklin and I set off on our own.....ummm what to do, I know let's go play in Central Park!!!! Well, the first thing up we took the subway to Columbus Circle at 59th and crossed over to walk on the southside of the park. Like all good tourists, you MUST do the cheesy horse drawn carriage through the park (the funny part is that you think you are getting this great tour of the park but in reality you aren't, you actually on see a very, very, very tiny section!).....

First, Franklin fed the horse a carrot! He thought this was really great! I was thinking it's a good thing sweet hubby isn't here because all I would hear would be how that horse is going to bite his hand off or how nasty it is......sweet hubby can be a little overprotected of Franklin (wait, that's harsh, not a little overprotective.....a TON overprotective).

We are all set for our ride through the park!

So much fun for Franklin!!!

We drove past the large play area, the carousel, and Worman skating rink. So when we came to the rink, I asked the driver to stop and let us out there (I really didn't want to finish the ride and then walk once again back into the park)........I had been hearing on the news about a crazy man hanging upside down for 60 hours so hey, we are gawky tourists and really what do gawky tourists do? They go see crazy men hanging upside down in the park!!!

This David Blaine hanging upside down for the 60 hours (at this point he has about 20 more to go). Franklin wasn't really impress with this.

Franklin was more interested in eating his snack!

At least I wasn't as much of a gawky tourist as some....I didn't get my picture made with him or get his autograph, I mean I do have some self-respect....I keep my gawky tourist to a minimum!!!

Once we (I mean, urr, I, when I) got my thrill seeker gawky toursity thing out of the way we managed to make our way through the large mass of other gawky tourists to find the big playground. And we played, and played, and then we played some more, and wait, we played a little more.....I mean it isn't every day you get to play in Central Park!

King of the mountain!

Baby slides....

Baby swings......

Then on to the big slides and the big swing.

Franklin was fasinated with the tire swing ......he stayed on it for a long time going round and round then proceeded to stagger instead of walk!

He also enjoyed a little rock climbing as well.....

I finally convinced him that we really needed to go and do some other things..... you know like ride e carousel!!!!

After the carousel ride we ate hotdogs in the park.....then Franklin wanted to chase the pigeons again. He was so wired from his day that I wasn't sure I would make it through.....maybe there is a reason people are always asking me if he is my grandson instead of my son!!!!! I AM TOO OLD FOR THIS!!!!!! BUT DARN'T, IT IS A LOT OF FUN!!!!!!

Once we finished our hotdogs it was time to walk again......did I mention that I lost 20lbs walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.....well I did, and now I am working on losing another 20 lbs walking through Central Park.....I am sure that is how it works......So when that bicycle taxi came along and asked us if we needed a ride, I didn't hestitate to say yes......I mean I don't want to lose weight too fast......so we ended up at 59th and Madison to visit a little toy store that I heard about a long time ago.....I actually used to visit this store to buy Sarah bears when she was growing up.......so I thought it would be fun to introduce Franklin to FAO Schwartz.........

As you can see we are considered diplomatic guests since we were greeted at the door by the doorman (stop smirking - I know they greet everyone but I can dream can't I?)

This small toy store is 3 floors! YES, 3 wonderful, glorious floors of heaven for all children who enter with their wallet holding parents. First things that you see are life size elephants, tigers, horses, etc ranging from $350 and up! Pocket change......

Of course we had to look at everything!!!!! I mean it is a toy store.... Unfortunately for us we had a budget of what we could spend so we had to really look hard to find the things in our budget......but until then we did a lot of playing!

This is the King's chair so that you can sit and read books! We were in a book area where Franklin picked out a new book and a puzzle to purchase.....oh, yeah, my baby is intellectual.....who needs toys to play with when you can stimulate your brain...uh, huh.... (Ok, I am really joking here, but I was truly amazed that this kid picked out a puzzle and a book for his treat instead of another toy that he really didn't need!)

You can't go to FAO without playing the big piano (this is the piano that Tom Hanks danced on in the movie "Big") Franklin was a little hesitant at first but once he overcame the shyness I couldn't get him off! He really enjoyed playing the music with his feet.

After we finished with the piano we made our way downstairs to the candy store area where Franklin bought his teacher some m&m's and himself a large lollipop and starbursts. Did I mention this was a small toy store and that we spent about 2 hours in there!!! I am so tired at this point I absolutely must rest before going on so we sat out in front by the water fountain to watch people and birds.

We headed back home so that Franklin could work on his puzzle and read his book.

As you can see there isn't much floor space for him to play on in Sarah's room!

All in all it was an absolute FUN day for both of us. One thing I have noticed since we have been here is that for some strange reason Franklin has a tendency to go to bed at 6:30 most nights....still trying to figure that one out (NOT).

For now the doctor is out.....wondering what tomorrow will bring....

The Franklin Diaries - Part Three

2008-09-24T18:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, so after my Brooklyn Bridge experience, I had to re coup on Monday morning!! We were lazy until around noon when we ventured out to find the American Museum of Natural History or as Franklin put it "the dinosaur musim." He was extremely excited to go see the dinosaurs -- I don't think he realized that they had other things there as well but he found out!
At the subway stop for the museum there are dinosaur images throughout so we had to get a picture by one but I don't think you can really tell what it is!!

Before hitting the museum we needed lunch.....I mean I lost 20 lbs walking the bridge and I really don't want to spend all my extra money on new smaller clothes so I really felt I should just endulge in more food and more food (that comes later ; - ) ). So we found a pizza place and dug in!!!

This is Franklin eyeing a squirrel....he really wants to chase it! That has been his thing here....chasing everything....birds, squirrels, pigeons......you name it he tries to chase it or catch it!

We finally made it to the museum (after another 10 mile walk - I'm sure!)

We looked at the African mammals first, then the Asian mammals, and finally found the dinosaurs!!! Franklin went super crazy - he was sooooooo excited to see these. He moved through the exhibits pretty fast and then went through them again so as not to miss anything!

This is one of Sarah's famous self-portrait pictures of the three of us!!

This is Franklin touching a "dinosaur egg."

So we are getting ready to leave the museum and I wanted to make absoulutley sure that I didn't miss Teddy Roosevelt on the horse (you know from THe Night at the Museum) and was so dissappointed to find out that it was only a prop based on the statue in front of the museum of Teddy Roosevelt on the horse.

All in all a very fun day!

For now the doctor is out......wondering what will in store for tomorrow...(actually I already know since I am behind on blogging, but you don't know!)

The Franklin Diaries - Part Two

2008-09-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

Franklin and I went to church with Sarah on Sunday.....but to get there we had to take a bus (about 40 blocks) which was very delightful for him!

We skipped out after Sacrament meeting and headed downtown to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Oh yeah, I'm STUPID!!!! I am way to BIG and OUT OF SHAPE to walk the Bridge but I finally made it!

Getting Started!

Help, I need water, lots of water!

Yea, we are on the other side......FINALLY!!!

After crossing we went down below to eat lunch at Grimaldi's Pizza but the line was about an hour long......so we did the next best thing......ICE CREAM at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.....oh, yeah it was wonderful! Then we walked some more because we just didn't feel like we got in enough exercise that day, I mean you can really never walk to much, right?

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at the pier.......you can tell by the line that they probably don't have good ice cream....

We finally ended our day back at the apartment where Franklin and Sarah immediately crashed on the futon and began eating the pretzel crackers for dinner....we are so good about getting a decent meal here!

Don't I have great looking kids? I love being here with both of them. Franklin is having such a great time with his sister and Sarah is enjoying Franklin.

Oh, I forgot that when we were walking home on Saturday night (our first night here) Franklin told Sarah that he was ready to go home.....his daddy really needed him to come home! Then we had Franklin call sweet hubby just to touch base....oh, big mistake.....Franklin became more homesick and really wanted to go home to daddy, according to him it would be ok for mom to stay in NYC but Franklin really needed to go home. We talked him into staying with us (I mean really I am NOT putting him on a plane by his self - (oh, wait I used to do that for Sarah when she was little but not by choice). I finally put him to bed and prayed he wouldn't be so homesick the next day.....

For now the doctor is out......wondering if she has lost 20 lbs today walking....I really think I should have lost by now....I mean so many miles in one day??????

The Franklin Diaries - Part One continued...

2008-09-22T19:23:00.000-05:00

When Franklin and I finished our nap on Saturday we walked around the corner and bought a few groceries (yes, diet coke!!). Not really thinking about this I really didn't pay attention to how much I bought so I ended up carrying several very heavy bags back to the apt. and proceeded to have fingers almost severed off from carrying the heavy bags!!!!

Then it was off to meet Sarah at S'mac for dinner.....only in NYC would there be a restaurant devoted to mac and cheese (with some pizza). What fun!

Franklin was so HAPPY to see his sister!!!! He proceded to catch her up on the past nine months in an hour and a half.......silly Franklin!!! I think he was afraid that he only had that one night there.

The mac and cheese......ummmmm soooooooooo goooood!!!

Caleb ordered the classic American and Cheddar with NO bread crumbs. I love how it is brought out in an iron skillet......extemely hot, but oh, so yummy!

Sarah and I got the 4-cheese.........delectable.......in heaven!!!!!

As you can see we didn't waste any of it!!!

After dinner we walked about a mile beside Central Park West (needed to work off that mac n cheese) then found the subway home, only when we made a transfer we jumped on the wrong train and ended up at Yankee Stadium so Sarah said, it is only a few blocks we can walk home (a few blocks my aching feet!) It was a mile! So I got in a two mile walk for the day!!! Here are some pictures of Franklin on the subway and of Yankee Stadium (which held their last game in the stadium on Sunday evening- next year they will play in a new stadium).

Yankee Stadium at night.

Franklin had it easy for this mile walk!

I think I walked my feet off the first day here.

For now the doctor is out......wondering if these blisters will heal soon.

The Franklin Diaries - Part One

2008-09-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Franklin and I left for NYC on Saturday to go see Sarah. I decided that I would take the next few days and blog about Franklin and his many adventures in the big city as well as his time with big sis Sarah!

So I had a hurried trip to Utah from Wed morning (super early!) getting home on Friday afternoon. I had to get clothes washed/dried, run errands, and re pack my suitcases so that Franklin and I could catch a 6:30 am flight to NYC. I was busy running around like an idiot on Friday and Friday evening when I finally realized that my child had not been fed any dinner (it was 9pm!!!) so I hurriedly fed him and put him to bed thinking it would be super hard to get him up at 5 am! It wasn't!!!

Sweet hubby helped us get checked in at the airport and left us to board the plane. Going through security with a child is a lot DIFFERENT than when I am flying by myself. I have a child in a stroller, backpack full of things to keep him occupied with, a bag of snacks, my bag with computer, notes for conference (that I will be attending while here) and my purse. Off with the jacket, shoes, ect. Oh my goodness!!!!!!!

After security trying to get our stuff back together...and shoes back on!

I was starving when we got there so I bought us some breakfast to eat on the plane. However, not thinking things through I let Franklin have his CHOCOLATE MILK before we got on the plane and just as I said be careful.......there it went all over his shirt, pants and stroller!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I had a sticky, wet, chocolate mess of a boy (note to self.....it is a good idea to pack extra clothes for Franklin in the backpack for disasters such as this!). So we get somewhat cleaned up and it is time to board the plane. This was not Franklin's first flight but it will be his first memory of a plane ride since he was just a baby when I took him on a business trip with me.

All settled in with cereal bar and chocolate milk!

After breakfast and a quick plane change in Memphis, we settled in again with a movie this time.

Oh, yeah, Madagascar for the 50th time!

Franklin fell asleep with about an hour left of the flight and missed the landing in NYC (however, he finally awoke from the loud noise of the landing. It was past noon at this time and we were hungery again, so I decided that since it always takes sooooo long to get a taxi and get to Sarahs house that I bought us pizza slices to eat while after we picked our luggage up.

NYC Pizza slice is almost as big as he is!!!!

We get done with pizza and get our bags and are off to find the taxi!

One must be clever when traveling with a four year old!!!

We got our taxi and headed to Manhatten. First of all Franklin gets in the back and realizes there isn't a car seat ---- whoo hoo he thinks he is a free man!!! BUT, mom has other ideas ........Get that seatbelt on right now!!!!
UGGGGGG!!!! The taxi driver isn't from America (no surprise there) but worse he is driving a taxi in one of the busiest cities and doesn't know where everything is!!!!! I am trying to explain where Sarah's apt is (after giving him the written address to look at) and he is still CLUELESS!!!!!! He keeps asking people where it is while at stop lights!!! All the while I am telling him to go towards Yankee Stadium area. Meanwhile, I look over at Franklin who is just sitting there and turning green.....he is getting car sick from the fast start/stop and sharp turns!!!! I put armbands on him to help with the sickness.

We finally arrive at the Brownstone and the taxi driver DUMPS my luggage in the street by the sidewalk - NOT ON THE SIDEWALK!!!!! Can we say NO TIP! I then have to lug everything up the steps and a flight of stairs. But we are here!!!!!

Oh, yeah, lets throw some gang signs since we are in the big city!!! Just kidding!!!
Needless to say, we crashed for a couple of hours and then bought some groceries before heading out to meet Sarah for dinner at S'mac. That diary entry come later.

For now the doctor is out, wondering if I am going to survice the big city with a four year old!!!!

Hidden Meanings of a Name

2008-09-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

What Connie Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.
You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.
A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

time out for ME

2008-09-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I went to a women's conference called Time Out for Women with four of my good friends. We had an absolute blast on the ride up, during, and on the ride home! It was so fun spending time with them. Sometimes we laughed so hard that our sides were hurting or our faces were hurting. I loved every minute of my time with them.

For the past couple of years I have been so busy taking care of Franklin and dealing with loss that I really haven't taken time out for me. I have learned that this is something that is really important not only for myself but for my family. So I decided to make the absolute most out of this trip....it wasn't a business conference so I didn't have to work while there; it wasn't a family trip so I didn't have to take care of anyone while there; IT WAS MY TIME FOR ME!!!

On our way up to St. Louis we stopped for a late lunch at Lamberts - Home of the Thrown Roll -- which is a fun place because they have great food and the best homemade yeast rolls this side of the Mississippi!!!! I love their yeast rolls and they will bring around a container of Sorgum Molasses for your rolls.....can I just say abosulte heaven!

Once we checked into our room we ordered room service and just chilled....one of my favorite things to do!!! We watched a little of the history channel since it was the anniversary of 9/11 and then we talked, laughed, talked, and laughed some more. THe things I know......ummmmm nah, I'm not sharing that!

The next day we all went down to the spa for a relaxing massage. I LOVE GETTING A MASSAGE!!!!! This was a fun way to do that as well; after our treatments they brought us out to a lounge area to sip fruit water and relax some more or just talk. Here are some pictures of our spa day. (Ignore the wonderful spa hair and face!!!)

Another wonderful thing about the Time Out for Women was that I got to meet Jane Clayson who used to be on CBS This Morning (with Bryant Gumbel). I love Jane!!!

It was a great weekend of fun and laughter!!! You know the old saying "What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas" well, I must say that what happened in St. Louis MUST stay in St. Louis!!!! OR at least in regards to that game of "Truth or Dare" we played on our drive home.......ummm, yeah, you know what I'm talkin bout!

For now the doctor is out....wondering how soon it will be until the next girls weekend of time out for ME!!!

Baby Redneck

2008-09-09T14:16:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday sweet hubby took Franklin four-wheelin'! They were invited by a group of people that sweet hubby does some business with from time to time. This was to be a "family" outing with these guys bringing their "women" and "kiddos." I however, passed on the adventure so that I could have a little time to do my own thang - scrapbookin' with some of my favorite people!

Now, don't get me wrong....I LOVE TO GO ATV 4-WHEELING!!!! But I was somewhat cautious in this particular adventure since I do suffer from social anxiety and being around people I am not familiar with gives me extreme social anxiety! But my not coming along didn't prevent sweet hubby and Franklin from going and having a great time!!

Sweet hubby did make a mistake in telling Franklin ahead of time about the adventure.....so everyday for two weeks "are we going 4-wheelin' today?" was what we heard constantly!! But, that also gave them time to prepare for the adventure. I mean, you have to plan what snacks you are taking, what drinks you want to take, you have to make sure you have your gear together - helmets, glasses, boots, ice chests, ect. Well, Franklin had his helmet and glasses (aka: swim goggles) laying out on our dining room table for at least a week awaiting this big adventure. But more importantly sweet hubby had to figure out a way to make riding comfortable for both himself and Franklin. Previously Franklin would sit in the front of sweet hubby with one arm holding him and the other driving the ATV. Sweet hubby just didn't want to do this on an 80 mile ATV ride, so something else needed to be done to help with the situation. Hence a car seat attached to back of the ATV!!!!!

Now they were ready to roll! Unfortunately for them, they come upon the shooting victim (http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0908/551534.html) and had to send the "women and kiddos" back down to the main road so sweet hubby and the others could help these people get the police etc. So their day started off pretty bad.

But on to the ride. Franklin and sweet hubby had a good time once the other stuff was taken care of. They went through mud holes, up hills, down hills, over rocks, etc. Then they stopped for lunch and even made time for Franklin to explore for bugs and catepillars!

"Oh yea, that's my men!"

Can't have a 4-wheelin' trip without a few bugs

What a way to eat your lunch!

A look at the group they went with.

Well, needless to say my guys had a fun trip inspite of the morning tragedy and I had a great day scrappin' with my own friends.

For now the doctor is out....wondering when she will get the time to scrap all of the pictures of those two rip roaring thru the mud in all their glory!

I need my diet coke!

2008-09-02T15:45:00.000-05:00

When I met sweet hubby he was an ademant diet coke drinker. Diet coke for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all times between. He believed we were a match made in heaven since I too was a diet coke drinker. Sweet hubby must have diet coke the minute he awakes....absolutely must have it to function! Not to be outdone by sweet hubby, I too have that "I must have my diet coke" to function mentality as well. I mean who can get through their morning without a Sonic Route 44? Call me crazy but I will dig, and I mean dig, through the coins I drop in the cubby of my truck to come up with enough to get that Route 44. AND, do you know the greatest thing ever...Sonic happy hour...oh, yeah baby, half price route 44's.....nothing better than that!!!

Well, you know all of that is great for two middle aged people who are empty nesters, but oh, wait, we aren't empty nesters anymore....we have a four year old! Oh, yes, one morning I got up early and walked into our kitchen only to observe that sweet hubby was sharing his morning diet coke with Franklin who was about a year and a half at the time!!!!!!! What the heck are you doing giving a baby diet coke??? Well, that was just the beginning. Now Franklin loves his diet coke as much as sweet hubby and I do. It is horrible!!!! One night for dinner I made a quick trip to KFC for Franklin and myself (KFC doesn't have diet coke - they are pepsi people). So I just got a small pepsi along with the kid's meal thinking I would just drink that, only Franklin asked for his diet coke and I pointed the pepsi and told him he could have a drink of that.....spewww, spitt, yuk!!!! That isn't diet coke!!!! I am shocked that this child can take the pepsi challenge and tell the difference between the two drinks... Another thing he can do is tell you that the diet coke is old....sweet hubby has a bad habit of pouring a glass of diet coke and leaving it on the counter coming back later to drink it (sweet hubby doesn't care if it has lost the fizz, or isn't super cold, he will drink it) but Franklin will take a sip and go yuk this isn't fresh!

Well, yesterday was a holiday and the day before Sunday....so needless to say our stash of diet coke was running low and then with the holiday and people at our house we found ourselves without diet coke for the morning. Franklin got up this morning and wanted a drink of diet coke only there wasn't any!!!! OH, MY GOSH!!!!!!! You would have thought the world was coming to an end!!! Franklin cried and cried and cried and cried and cried some more.... He would not get ready for school ....I mean there was no amount of cuddling, sweet talking, or threats that could console this child. I have decided that I am a horrible mother......I let my child get ADDICTED TO DIET COKE!!!!!!!!

Until next time, the doctor is out....wondering if there is a diet coke anonymous for us addicted souls....could it be a 28 day program or a 6 month program.....

My First Day of PreK

2008-08-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

To go to preK or not to go to preK....that is the question!!!

Sweet hubby and I just kept going back and forth on this preK thing. We were very concerned about Franklin not being ready to go. Franklin has had some developmental problems previously and I was just afraid that he would be to far behind the other kids and it would make for a very uncomfortable experience for him. Yes, I am the overprotective mother!!! However, Franklin did attend a mother's day out program a couple of days a week during the summer and he loved it. We had planned for him to stay with this program this year instead of going to the school district preK....those were the plans all the way up to the day preK started!!!! Then I woke up Monday morning feeling not right about that decision. So Franklin and I went to the district office and completed the paper work to get him into the "big school." They told us it could take a few days for his school assignment BUT, they called me at home around 8pm to tell me he had been assigned to a school very close to our home. The drawback was that the school requires uniforms and I wasn't prepared for that!! Luckily Franklin had a pair of khaki shorts and a yellow shirt that would suffice for the first day. I even made a 10pm run to the local Wally World (which I NEVER do since that WW is not in the best location - but I braved it anyway for my little guy) only to get there and find out there isn't a supply list for preK!!! So I bought a backpack and some lunch supplies for my little guy.

Needless to say Franklin was estatic to be going to the "big school." We put his favorite "blanklet" in his backpack and he grabbed his lunch pail and was ready to go....

When we got to the "big school" - it was chaos with the parking and parents,etc. We had to go to the media center to fill out more papers and wait, and wait, and wait.

Actually Franklin couldn't get his mind off of ALL the books in the Media Center...he kept asking if he could get a book to "read."

Finally we are sent to the classroom to meet the new teacher! Franklin said hello to Ms. C and she directed him to a table so he could get started with some puzzles while I just watched to see if he would be ok. Finally I breezed over so I could take pictures of my sweet guy's first day of "big school" aka preK!

When I got ready to leave he said "Wait mom, I need a hug and a kiss!" So off I went with tears in my eyes leaving my little one at the "big school."

For now the doctor is out....wondering if she will survive this quiet house....ummm yeah, I think so!

Abbra Cadabbra!

2008-08-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of weeks Franklin has absorbed himself with action figure movies. He has watched two different Transformer movies (one a cartoon) five million times in the past week; Power Rangers movie six million times; and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles three million times! I think the content of these movies are affecting his behavior a little....

Franklin in his favorite chair watching his movie

A few weeks ago, I took him to see Kung Fu Panda and from that moment on we have had to watch him closely so that he doesn't do his own version of "kung fu" on everything and anyone around him! When visiting his aunt Mimi we caught him "kung fuing" her dog....oops! When his cousins did something he didn't like then he would kung fu them. Umm, not so good...they are quite a bit older than him! But the latest behavior is rather funny because it involves "Abbra Cadabbra-ing" everything.

Me: Franklin, please stop standing up in the chair and eat your lunch.

Franklin: ok.

Me: Franklin, I said do not stand up in that chair, do you want me to ground you from your movies?

Franklin: Abbra Cadabbra, make my mom not ground me from my movies!

Today we were having lunch with big brother, J.W., aunt Mimi, and Nana. J.W. likes to tease Franklin and "bug" him. I think Franklin had enough of the teasing when he said to J.W.:

"Abbra Cadabbra make J.W. disappear!"

Well it didn't stop J.W. so a little later we hear: "Abbra Cadabbra, let a big wind come up and blow J.W. away."

We all burst out laughing as he has said this. Franklin became upset with us and told us it wasn't funny. It seems that Abbra Cadabbra is a very serious business!

As you can see, J.W. is a very big guy, and I believe it does take serious concentration to "abbra cadabbra him away." However, I do think Franklin would miss J.W. if he really did disapprear!

For now the doctor is out....wondering if she should try "abbra cadabbra" instead of "grounding."

Funtime at Playtime

2008-08-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

We have a new pizza place that just recently opened here in town so we decided to try it out (usually sweet hubby takes Franklin to Chucke Cheese). The new place is called Playtime Pizza. They have a "all you can eat" pizza bar, pasta bar, salad bar, taco bar, potato bar, dessert bar....now understand each of these "bars" have limited types of food (usually two to three different items) but none the less we found the food to be better than the local Chucke's but not the best food in town either. BUT, the rest of it ----- AMAZING! Franklin and sweet hubby had the best time ever! They managed to hit quite a few spots in the place. The PLACE is two floors and massive. So massive they have a miniture go-cart section, bumper cars, bowling, laser tag, and miniture golf. Plus all the other games, etc. Here are a few pictures of sweet hubby and Franklin enjoying the fun:

Getting strapped in for the ride.

Caleb's first go-cart ride.

Playing skee ball.

Bowling....he loved this so he played two games (about 30 minutes worth).

Simulation roller coaster ride! He laughed so hard I thought he would fall off the seat.

Shootout at the shootout saloon.

Driving his dreamcar - RED CONVERTIBLE CORVETTE!

Finishing the night off with dessert!

All in all it was pretty fun. A bit pricey but lots of fun.

For now the doctor is out....wondering if she should take a ride on that go-cart next time.

Book Tagged

2008-08-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

I have been book tagged by Sarah. This is what you do:

1. Pick up the nearest book to you (one of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Okay, so the closest book is The Mistress's Daughter (A.M. Homes). I just finished it yesterday and it was on my desk (since I posted it in Goodreads/facebook).

So,

And I know how sad Ellen was when he was ill and after he died.
How did they meet?
He had a wife, Katherine -- I see her name on some of the documents and I find a card from her to Ellen.

I tag Tami, Leslie Kate, Trish, Sayra, and Cassie.

My Daddy Has Good Lips!

2008-07-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

I stole this post from my sister's blog to post on my own blog. It was really funny when it happened.

Post from Confessions of a Mimi:
"I really love my little Franklin. He makes me laugh and fills my heart with love. On Monday he wanted to spend the night with me and play with my kids. I love having him around and couldn't say no to him. Even though it was a school night for all I decided to let him stay with me. He did great.....until bedtime. He couldn't make up his mind who he wanted to sleep with...YaYa or BB.....but wait.....Mimi! I think he just assumed that I would be up the latest and he could stay up longer if he chose me. Well, he was right on the money. He could not settle down and he wanted to watch the news with me to see LiLi. She was chosen to ring the bell at school for the Governor. He visited their school that day. There were news cameras all around. Too bad we couldn't find the news station that carried the story. When I wake up Franklin to go to school the next morning he is just a little bit sleepy and doesn't want to get out of bed and get moving. He is soon persuaded because he wants to go with me to drop my kids off at their school. After I drop off my kids I head to Franklin 's house. He has a mini GPS system in his little brain and always knows where he is and where anyone is going. He quickly determines that we are headed to his house and tells me that he is not ready to go home. We go back and forth for a while until he asks why I have to take him home. I say "Because...". He comes back with "Mimi, that is a wrong answer." (Apparently he likes to say because as an answer to his mom a lot and she tells him its the wrong answer.) I promise him that I am staying at his house for a little while and he calms down. When we get to his house his Dad is about to leave for the day. He runs over to give his dad a kiss and a hug and then excitedly turns to me and says: " Mimi, come kiss my dad! He has good lips!" How do you explain to a 4 year old that Mimi's don't kiss other peoples dads? I just love my Franklin!"

Now understand that I was there when Franklin wanted to share Dad's lips with Mimi.....I am just not ready to share my sweet hubby with others yet .....

For now the Doctor is out.......wondering how to explain to Franklin that not everyone can kiss dad....only he and I can!!!

Rude Waitresses, Rude Managers....

2008-07-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

I have to vent. Tonight, my friend, her son, my mom, my sister and her 3 kids, all joined myself and Franklin to have a fun Mexican meal at a local restaurant. Count us, there are nine of us!!!! Nine people and the waitress sits us at a table for six!!! We are trying to crowd in and make this work, but you can imagine how crowded it must have been. Well, I politely, let me stress that, POLITELY, asked the waitress if they could add another table or something since it was very crowded (and yes, the restaurant was crowded anyway --- it is Friday night afterall). A waiter came over and told us that he could move us to another room for a larger table so we could be more comfortable. We all stood up to move and I asked if we needed to bring our chips and salsa, silverware, etc. At this time another waitress (not involved in our service at all) turned to our waitress and said, "I feel for you having to deal with the B.......ch tonight." As you can imagine, I, along with my party, was very shocked at this behavior and it was made a little worse since the waiter turned to the butting in waitress and said that she should not talk like that in front of customers.

So, we moved to our new table and asked to speak to the manager. He came over, we explained what happened and that we did not appreciate the manner that the waitress spoke about me. THe manager then very rudely tried to explain the behavior away telling us that the waitress was not addressing our party at all. We disagreed and then he very RUDELY said, "If I went to a restaurant and I didn't like the service, then I would leave and go somewhere else." So we did!!!

We went to another Mexican restaurant in a nearby town (just a few miles down the road) and had a very lovely time.....great food, nice atmosphere, and KIND, attentive, helpful staff.

When I told sweet hubby (who is out of town this weekend) what happened he was a little more than upset and decided we had eaten our last meal at local Mexican restaurant (We ate there twice last week!).

For now the doctor is out.....trying to get over the "stuffed" feeling from her new favorite Mexican restaurant...